Twenty-year-old Mikayla Foreman knows her experience is meaningful. Dealing with homelessness since 18 and currently living in a shelter, Foreman has managed to continue her academic journey, studying for exams this month in hopes of attaining a nursing degree.

But Foreman believes there were intervention points that could鈥檝e prevented her from experiencing homelessness in the first place.

鈥淚f someone in school had understood what I was going through, things could鈥檝e been very different,鈥� she said in an interview with Stateline.

As more cities impose bans, fines or jail time for adults living on the streets, young people who have been homeless say they face unique problems that could have been addressed earlier. Through more than 400 interviews and survey responses, young people across the country recently told researchers how earlier guidance and intervention might have made a difference for them. The research suggests the country is missing its biggest opportunity to prevent youth homelessness 鈥� by intervening well before a young person reaches a shelter and years before they are chronically homeless.

The , from Covenant House and the University of California, Berkeley, finds that the pathways into youth homelessness are different from those of adults experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. A young person coming out to their family, or becoming pregnant, or experiencing untreated trauma can create conflicts that push them into homelessness. A lot of that doesn鈥檛 show up in current data.

The survey responses offer the nation鈥檚 schools and social services agencies the chance to get ahead of youth homelessness, researchers say, not only by intervening earlier, but also by pinpointing and responding to the diversity of needs among teenagers and young adults who might be close to losing their housing.

Advocates say there are multiple intervention points 鈥� in school, in child welfare organizations and inside family dynamics 鈥� where the worst outcomes can be avoided. States such as California, Florida, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington have explored some of those intervention points in policies that range from guaranteed income pilot programs to youth-specific rental assistance and campus housing protections.

Hawaii has made its youth drop-in and crisis-diversion program permanent, and Oregon and Washington have expanded rental assistance and education-centered supports for vulnerable youth. Florida now requires colleges to prioritize housing for homeless and foster students.

鈥淲ith young people, we have opportunities to intervene much further upstream 鈥� in schools, in families, in child welfare 鈥� before anyone has to spend a single night on the streets. That鈥檚 simply not the case with older adults,鈥� said David Howard, former senior vice president for Covenant House and a co-author of the new research, in an interview with Stateline.

鈥淓ven at 18, 20 or 24 [years old], young people are still developing,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淭heir vulnerabilities look very different from middle-aged adults, and the support systems they need are different too.鈥�

One of the key points of intervention for potentially homeless youth is school. Public schools across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic.

And homelessness has many various regional factors outside of individual circumstances, such as climate-driven homelessness. More than 5,100 students in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina became homeless as a result of hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.

鈥淗omelessness is multifaceted and lots of us slip through the cracks because the system isn鈥檛 designed for our reality,鈥� said Foreman, a former Covenant House resident who helped conduct the new research.

Foreman鈥檚 insights and lived experience were included in the study, which showed that youth homelessness rarely begins with an eviction or job loss 鈥� frequent causes of homelessness among adults.

The top three reasons that young people experience homelessness for the first time, according to respondents, were being kicked out of their family homes, running away, and leaving an unsafe living situation such as one affected by domestic violence. Other instigators included being unable to afford housing, aging out of foster care, being kicked out of or running away from foster care, and moving away from gang violence.

However, respondents also had suggestions for ways government, schools and the community could help or prevent youth homelessness. They suggested youth-specific housing options, identifying and helping at-risk youth in health care settings, providing direct cash assistance and offering conflict resolution support within families.

Among the most common suggestions was to offer services that create long-lasting connections for young people.

鈥淪trong relationships with non-parental adults, including mentors, teachers, service providers, and elders, were identified as especially important when family connections were strained or absent,鈥� the report said.

The surveys and interviews also demonstrated that young people want mental health care tailored to their personal experience, said Benjamin Parry, a lead researcher on the report, speaking during a September webinar hosted by Point Source Youth, a nonprofit that works to end youth homelessness.

The research breaks out responses from a few specific groups 鈥� Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, LGBTQ+ people of color and pregnant or parenting youth 鈥� to understand their distinct needs, said Parry, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley鈥檚 School of Public Health. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much nuance and specificity within these different groups.鈥�

Indigenous youth, for example, often are dealing with the effects of intergenerational trauma and alcoholism that have been projected onto them, Parry said. Those young people have far different needs than pregnant or parenting youth, he noted.

鈥淭hey are like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know where my next paycheck鈥檚 going to come from, I don鈥檛 know how to put food in my baby鈥檚 stomach, I don鈥檛 have a support network or someone to go to for this advice,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭hat specificity is exactly why we need to understand this better and do better to tailor our approaches and responses.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

As an education support professional in Hawley, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles east of Scranton, she鈥檚 been a teacher’s assistant, substitute, district registrar, homeless liaison and attendance officer. She鈥檚 currently the principal鈥檚 secretary, serves on the city council, is a board member for the state education retirement system and is the president of her district鈥檚 educational support professionals union.

Her experience and passion for helping homeless youth were reasons why she was recently named the Pennsylvania State Education Association鈥檚 Dolores McCracken Education Support Professional of the Year.

Monaghan was the Wallenpaupack district鈥檚 homeless liaison for 15 years. She helped arrange transportation for students and when they didn鈥檛 come to school. Before the pandemic, she launched a nonprofit in an effort to find temporary housing for students who didn鈥檛 have a permanent home.

When Monaghan received news about her award in November, she said in a that she was honored to be associated with its namesake, who was the first educational support professional to serve as president of the state teachers union. McCracken died of cancer in 2018.

鈥淗aving known Dolores and witnessed all that she accomplished on behalf of education support professionals makes this so much more significant and humbling,鈥� Monaghan said. 鈥淚 have tried to use her belief that if something needs to be done, you just do it and then move on to the next project, all with the hope of improving circumstances for those around you.鈥�

There are more than 2.2 million education support professionals in U.S. public schools, according to the . These include paraprofessionals, office staff, food service workers, security personnel, bus drivers and custodians

More than 75% of education support professionals have responsibilities for ensuring student and student safety. About 84% work full time, with an average of $37,097.

Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said in a that Monaghan is a 鈥渕odel of dedication and citizenship鈥� and consistently gave back to her school and community. 

鈥淎nn excels on so many levels,鈥� Chapin said. 鈥淪he is a compassionate leader, hardworking volunteer, skilled support professional and effective public official. As a leader in her local [union] and in PSEA, she is a strong voice for her fellow support professionals.鈥�

Monaghan spoke recently with 社区黑料鈥檚 Lauren Wagner. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about your time as a homeless student liaison.

I was a homeless student liaison for about 15 years. I did not realize how many students are homeless in this district. A lot of people didn’t realize. Our poverty rate is 64% to 65%, but we have a good tax base because we’re land-rich. So people were like, “What do you mean we have homeless students? We don’t have homeless people in this area.” I was like, “Yeah, you do. If you really look very closely at the definition, we have a lot of homeless in this area, especially kids.” I became very interested in the topic, especially when we tried to find places for some of these kids to go. I realized there was nowhere to go in this area. 

Wayne and Pike counties are the only two counties in the state that do not have a homeless shelter. It was not a new situation for the district, it was just one that was never really acknowledged. I was able to work with the administration 鈥� even though we didn’t have a place to send the kids 鈥� and we were able to work with agencies and made sure they had transportation. The district was really good about taking care of all that. Even though I’m not the homeless student liaison anymore, I work with the person who is now the liaison, and I haven’t given up on the idea of getting a homeless shelter in the area.

In your work with the homeless community, you began the creation of Hawley Forward, an afterschool program nonprofit. How is that going?

The whole idea started prior to COVID, and we had a building that we wanted to see if we could talk to the owner into donating and turning it into a hub for afterschool programs. There was space upstairs that we thought about making into a dorm area for kids we call sofa surfers 鈥� for whatever reason, they’re not with their parents or they don’t have a place to go. With COVID, all those plans fell through. So we’re still working on that. I’ve been talking to one of the local pastors who has a church property they’re not utilizing. They’re talking with their church council, so we may be able to do something on a small scale for our students. Sometimes we just need some place for kids to spend a couple of nights because there’s something going on at home and things are not stable. We’ve had seniors who aren鈥檛 able to be at home, and we just have to get them through to graduation. That’s what we’re hoping to still be able to do.

What made you want to go into education?

When I was in high school, I wanted to go to college and I wanted to be a teacher. I got my teaching certification in New York. I taught for the Diocese of Brooklyn for a number of years, and then I moved to Pennsylvania. But there were no teaching jobs available, so I subbed for a while and then I was asked if I wanted to take a position as a teacher assistant to do attendance and study halls. That’s how I got into working at the school here. That position just gradually morphed into what it ultimately became. 

I was ready to retire three years ago, and the principal asked if I would take over as [his] secretary. He said, 鈥業 can coach you.鈥� Because I wanted to be a grandma, I worked out babysitting issues with my daughter. And I stayed on to be the administrative assistant. 

You鈥檙e the president of both a local education support professional union and the Pennsylvania State Education Association鈥檚 northeastern region. What are you working on in both positions?

I’ve been the local union president since 2009 and am finishing my third year as president of the Northeastern Education Support Professional Division. Right now, my local Wallenpaupack union isn鈥檛 negotiating. We settled a contract last year, so we’re in the second year of the new contract. But [for the regional organization], I’m working with the Bloomsburg School District. They have a whole bunch of new leaders and they’re going into a negotiation, so we’re trying to work with them to get fully acclimated. 

Advocating for a living wage for support staff is still key. I know support staff who have been in their job for 25 to 30 years and are barely making $25,000 a year. That’s not a living wage, and especially in this day and age, with the cost of groceries, gas and utilities. Even [making] $15 an hour, we have people who work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. It’s important that support staff be recognized and be paid adequately, because buildings could not run without support staff. We’re the ones who answer the phones, keep the place clean, keep the kids fed, get them to and from school. It’s a vital role, and it needs to be recognized. For a lot of years, people [thought] it was just a side job. But it’s a career for people, and we need to support them in that profession. We don’t have as many dedicated people coming in as we used to because the money is not there.

When Congress takes up the fiscal year 2026 budget, leaders should maintain dedicated funding to support these vulnerable children.

Roughly in schools across the U.S. are homeless. These children currently have legal protections that remove barriers to enrollment and attendance. This has been the case since the signing of the federal McKinney-Vento Act by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987. The law recognizes the challenges faced by children who lack a 鈥渇ixed, stable, and adequate nighttime residence鈥� and protects children鈥檚 right to enroll in and remain in school when their lack of stable housing might otherwise make this impossible. 

Along with legal protections, the law authorizes federal funding that helps schools identify and support children experiencing homelessness. These funds are used most frequently to provide transportation and school supplies to students and hire outreach staff who work with community agencies and train school personnel on how to connect children and families with needed services at their school and in the community. 

Since the enactment of the McKinney-Vento Act, a growing body of research has demonstrated why the protections are needed. shows children experiencing homelessness are more likely to be chronically absent from school and less likely to graduate high school, compared to the entire student body, as well as economically disadvantaged students. Teens experiencing homelessness also face significantly greater risks to their health and well-being, with a more than four times greater than their high school peers.  

While annual funding designated for helping schools serve students without stable housing makes up less than 1% of past years鈥� federal education budget at roughly $129 million annually, these funds have a substantial impact. In of American Rescue Plan funding targeted to improve identification and services for homeless students (ARP-HCY), school districts that received additional funding saw a 25% increase in the identification of students experiencing homelessness, as well as reduced rates of chronic absenteeism, improvements in reading, science and math, and increased graduation rates among homeless students. 

Additionally, in a of New York State schools that, school personnel reported that school districts that had previously had little awareness of the impact of homelessness on children in their schools were better able as a result of receiving dedicated funding. 

The president’s 2026 budget proposal will gut the McKinney-Vento Act and leave children who are homeless without the vital support of their schools. The proposal rolls 18 programs 鈥�- including McKinney-Vento funding for homeless students 鈥�- into a single flexible state block grant, and it cuts the collective funding for those programs .听

Proponents argue that the block grant approach does not eliminate funding for homeless students and simply provides states more flexibility in how they spend their education dollars. However, previous state block grants tell a different story. When funding for an established program is transferred to unrestricted block grants, grants often do not continue to be used for their original purpose. 

The best example of this is the replacement of federal cash assistance with the block grant for states known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Since the TANF block grant was put in place, the total amount of cash assistance provided to families in real value from 1993 to 2016. This decline did not coincide with a ; instead it was driven by fewer needy families receiving assistance. The most recent fiscal data available shows that as of FY 2023 nationally went to basic assistance, with some states . 

By cutting the overall budget for the 18 federal education programs covered in the proposed state block grant by 70%, states will be in a position of scarcity trying to cover program needs that cannot all be met. We saw this during the pandemic when only 18% of school homelessness liaisons said their districts spent federal coronavirus relief education funding on services for homeless students 鈥�- despite that being an allowable use of the funds. Without the backing of a federal requirement that homeless students be identified and served by schools and a corresponding budget allocation, funding for students who are homeless will be eaten away by other programs in many states, and legal protections will disappear.

There is still time to ensure that the final education budget does not strip away the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness. Congress should not include the McKinney-Vento program in any block grant, but rather keep it in its current form, as the budget proposal does for both Title I programs that serve students in high-poverty areas and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act programs. By preserving the McKinney-Vento program, we can ensure that being homeless as a child does not determine the course of that child鈥檚 education or future. 

In Kern County, the first rule in counting homeless students is not saying 鈥渉omeless.鈥�

Instead, school staff use phrases like 鈥渟truggling with stable housing鈥� or 鈥渇amilies in transition.鈥� The approach seems to have worked: More families are sharing their housing status with their children鈥檚 schools, which means more students are getting services.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stigma attached to the word 鈥榟omeless,鈥欌�� said Curt Williams, director of homeless and foster youth services for the Kern County Office of Education. 鈥淲hen you remove that word, it all changes.鈥�

Largely as a result of better identification methods, Kern County saw its homeless student population jump 10% last year, to 7,200. Those students received transportation to and from school, free school supplies, tutoring and other services intended to help them stay in school. For the purposes of this data, the definition of homelessness is broader than .

The trend is reflected statewide. In the latest state enrollment data released last month, California had 230,443 homeless students 鈥� a 9.3% increase from the previous year. Some of the increase is due to the state鈥檚 ongoing housing shortage, but most of the increase is because of better identification, advocates and school officials said.

Homeless students face numerous obstacles in school. They have higher rates of discipline and absenteeism, and fare worse academically. Last year, only 16% of homeless students met the , some of the lowest scores of any student group.

鈥淪chools can鈥檛 solve homelessness, but they can ensure the students are safe in the classroom and getting the education they need to get out of homelessness,鈥� said Barbara Duffield, executive director of Schoolhouse Connection, a national homeless youth advocacy group. 鈥淭hat starts with identifying the child who鈥檚 homeless.鈥�

Challenges of counting homeless students

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, schools are required to count their homeless students throughout the school year and ensure they receive services. Homeless students also have the right to stay enrolled in their original school even if they move.

For many years, schools struggled to identify homeless students. Under state law, schools must at the beginning of the school year asking families where they live 鈥� in their own homes, in motels, doubled-up with other families, in shelters, cars or outdoors.

Some schools were less-than-diligent about collecting the form, or reassuring families understood the importance. Often, homeless families were reluctant to submit the form because they were afraid the school might contact a child welfare agency. Immigrant families sometimes feared the school might notify immigration authorities. And some families didn鈥檛 realize that sharing quarters with another family 鈥� by far the most common living situation among homeless families 鈥� is technically defined as homeless, at least under McKinney-Vento.

A 2021 by former Assemblymember Luz Rivas, a Democrat from Arleta in the San Fernando Valley, sought to fix that problem. The bill requires schools to train everyone who works with students 鈥� from bus drivers to cafeteria workers to teachers 鈥� on how to recognize potential signs of homelessness. That could include families who move frequently or don鈥檛 reply to school correspondence.

The bill seems to have helped. Last year, the state identified 21,000 more homeless students than it had the previous year, even as overall enrollment dropped.

Still, that鈥檚 probably an undercount, researchers said. The actual homeless student population is probably between 5% and10% of those students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, according to the National Center for Homeless Education. In California, that would be a shortfall of up to 138,713 students.

Influx of funding

Another boost for identifying homeless students came from the American Rescue Plan, the federal COVID-19 relief package. The plan included $800 million for schools to hire counselors or train existing staff to help homeless students. Nearly all schools in California received some money.

About 120 districts in California won grant money through the McKinney-Vento Act, which last year dispersed about $15.9 million in California to pay for things like rides to school, backpacks, staff and other services. Districts are chosen on a competitive basis; not all districts that apply receive funds.

But those funding sources are drying up. Most of the pandemic relief money has already been spent, and President Donald Trump鈥檚 recently approved budget does not include McKinney-Vento funding for 2026-27.

The cuts come at a time when advocates expect steep increases in the number of homeless families over the next few years, due in part to national policy changes. Republican budget proposals include cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and other programs aimed at helping low-income families, while the immigration crackdown has left thousands of families afraid to seek assistance. For families living on tight budgets, those cuts could lead to a loss of housing.

And in California, the shortage of affordable housing continues to be a hurdle for low-income families. Even Kern County, which has traditionally been a less pricey option for families, has seen a as more residents move there from Los Angeles.

Joseph Bishop, an education professor at UCLA and co-author of a on homeless students nationwide, said the loss of government funding will be devastating for homeless students.

鈥淐alifornia is the epicenter of the homeless student crisis, and we need targeted, dedicated support,鈥� Bishop said. 鈥淔olks should be extremely alarmed right now. Will these kids be getting the education they need and deserve?鈥�

Better food, cleaner bathrooms

In Kern County, identification has only been one part of the effort to help homeless students thrive in school. Schools also try to pair them with tutors and mentors, give them school supplies and laundry tokens, and invite them to join a program called Student Voice Ambassadors. There, students can tour local colleges, learn leadership skills and explore career options.

As part of the program, staff ask students what would make school more enticing 鈥� and then make sure the suggestions happen. At one school, students said they鈥檇 go to class if the bathrooms were cleaner. So staff improved the bathrooms. At another school, students wanted better food. They got it.

Williams credits the program with reducing absenteeism among homeless students. Two years ago, 45% of Kern County鈥檚 homeless students were chronically absent. Last year, the number dropped to 39% 鈥� still too high, he said, but a significant improvement.

鈥淲ithout McKinney-Vento funds, the Student Voice Ambassador program would go away,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淗ow will we keep it going? I don鈥檛 know.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

The number of students experiencing homelessness who were enrolled in California鈥檚 TK-12 public schools has jumped over 9% for yet another year, .

Nearly 20,000 more homeless students were enrolled by the first Wednesday in October, known as Census Day, during the 2024-25 school year. This increase represents a 9.3% change from the previous school year, and it means the homeless student population in the state has surged 37% in the last decade.

Schools say the spike in homelessness is due both to families鈥� worsening financial troubles and improved identification efforts. Covid-era funding, refined data tracking, and improved training and protocol have resulted in schools being more likely to properly identify homeless students than in the past.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of a perfect storm where you have all of these elements coming into play, which then speaks to that increase. The data is highlighting the need to continue these supports,鈥� said Alejandra Chamberlain, youth services director for the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

Families are increasingly financially strained

Coachella Valley Unified School District鈥檚 homeless student enrollment tripled, a reflection of the economic struggles their families are experiencing, said Karina Vega, a district support counselor.

Increased fear of immigration enforcement is contributing to homelessness in the area. Vega shared how a student鈥檚 mother could no longer afford to pay rent after her husband was deported; another family lives in their car, and they travel each weekend across the Mexican border to spend time with a deported parent; others are constantly moving to stay off the radar of immigration officials because they fear being deported.

Many of her students live in inadequate housing. Electricity may need to be wired from one trailer to the next, water may have been shut off, or multiple families live in a small space due to financial hardship.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen more families than we鈥檝e probably ever seen鈥� experiencing homelessness, Vega said.

But she noted that students were identified at a greater rate after more school personnel learned that homelessness does not only mean someone is on the streets.

鈥淭he reality is, a lot of us that work for the school district grew up in the valley and some of these things that we see are typical, like trailer parks and inadequate housing,鈥� Vega said.

This is where the (Riverside) county鈥檚 training on identifying all types of homelessness, an effort they have championed down to the school sites, has made a significant difference, she added.

In Mendocino County, many families who once held jobs in the waning marijuana industry are now struggling to make ends meet, said Blythe Post, coordinator of foster youth and homeless services at the Mendocino County Office of Education.

Their rural 89,000-person county is vast, but there are few affordable housing options to choose from, she said, pushing more and more of their students and families into homelessness.

But increased homelessness is only one part of the problem.

鈥業 anticipate we will see a huge drop鈥�

Although the official number of homeless students continues to rise, liaisons believe the actual numbers are far higher.

Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, every public school district, county office of education and charter school is required to hire a local liaison to ensure that homeless youth are identified and have the educational services they need to succeed academically. This federal law is also the reason that schools have counts of homeless students at all.

This law may be at risk under the Trump administration if the U.S. Department of Education is shuttered or its funding is lumped into a block grant as stated in .

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be more kids to count and fewer people to count them, and then fewer services,鈥� said Margaret Olmos, director of the National Center for Youth Law鈥檚 Compassionate Education Systems.

Liaisons say accurate counts are difficult to reach for a host of reasons. The information is self-reported, and some families are reluctant to share their housing status with school personnel. It鈥檚 rare that a school liaison only serves homeless students. Most have divided attention because they are supporting foster students and low-income students. In smaller districts, they may be the support liaison for all students.

In some ways, schools have been here before. During the 2022-23 school year, for example, the rate of homeless students enrolled in California schools  while overall student enrollment dipped.

Then, as now, families were confronting skyrocketing housing and cost-of-living expenses. The rolling impact of expiring eviction moratoriums put in place during the pandemic and the loss of housing due to disasters, including fires and , have further exacerbated the issue. And, similarly, liaisons attributed much of the increase to families being squeezed financially as identification practices were simultaneously improved.

But while the situation might appear familiar, liaisons say they are at a crossroads 鈥� and many do not think the odds are in their favor.

Liaisons said a 2021 state law requiring that schools include a housing questionnaire in enrollment packets has supported identification efforts. But many say what made the single, greatest difference is the one-time funding they received from the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan 鈥� Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) federal grant. The total amounted to  over several years.

鈥淎RP-HCY was the first time you saw school districts and counties be incentivized to find and care and count 鈥� and they did,鈥� Olmos said.

How districts and counties applied the funds varied widely. Liaisons said it depended on their school community鈥檚 needs. Some booked short-term motel stays for students whose families were being evicted or were on homeless shelter waiting lists or provided transportation to and from school. Other liaisons hired staff to improve data tracking or who spoke students鈥� native languages. Still, others established after-school care, provided baby supplies for students鈥� younger siblings, or purchased washers and dryers to provide free laundry services for families.

Some districts opted to focus a portion of funds on improving data tracking practices.

Mendocino County鈥檚 Round Valley Unified went from one homeless student to 199 in just one school year 鈥� one of the greatest surges in the state. That increase was a reflection of more data training and tightened protocols, Post said.

鈥淲hen I see those jumps in numbers 鈥� that tells me that there鈥檚 a problem with identification or communication between who鈥檚 inputting the records and who鈥檚 submitting those data reports,鈥� Post said.

What comes next?

There are no plans by either the federal or state government to replenish the one-time federal funds at anywhere near the same levels, which has left some liaisons to  and lament a near future with lowered capacity to count and serve homeless students.

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a number of families that just fall under the radar,鈥� Post said. 鈥淚 anticipate we will see a huge drop in McKinney-Vento numbers; those families will just not be served or identified.鈥�

Some districts do rely on funds from the federal McKinney-Vento law, but educators say the 1987 act was never adequately funded by the state or federal government. Funding cycles are every three years, and it鈥檚 a competitive grant that reaches few districts. California received less than $15 million in this funding for the 2022-23 school year, for example, which went to just 6% of the state鈥檚 school districts, according to  by SchoolHouse Connection and the University of Michigan鈥檚 Poverty Solutions program.

The state has released billions of dollars in recent years to address general homelessness. But funds aimed at youth are often targeted to those over the age of 18, including $56 million in new grants announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 office.

Liaisons have also long highlighted that few of those dollars ultimately reach students who are living doubled-up 鈥� where more than one family lives in a single home due to financial crises 鈥� which is how the majority of homeless students in the state and nationwide live. Doubling-up is identified as homelessness under the McKinney-Vento act, but not under other federal definitions of homelessness.

And while schools receive extra funding for homeless students from the state through the state鈥檚 Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, this stream is often limited in how it can be spent and is shared among several vulnerable student groups with differing needs.

鈥淭here is a part of really acknowledging to the community that other special populations receive state funding to be able to carry out the responsibilities and to dedicate staff to do that work鈥� while homeless students rely on the limited federal dollars, said Chamberlain, who is also one of three leads for the state鈥檚 Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center network.

Advocates have pushed for the state to, at a minimum, match the McKinney-Vento dollars California receives, but that amount has yet to make it into the state budget.

Despite the increases, liaisons and advocates are clear that the rising numbers alongside decreasing dedicated funding puts kids at risk.

鈥淚f we cannot identify these kids early and serve them and ensure they go on to a choice-filled adulthood, they鈥檙e so much more likely to end up experiencing homelessness as an adult,鈥� Olmos said.

Williams and her children with relatives, but in late November were told they had to find somewhere else to live. She called the city鈥檚 homeless response team at least three times seeking help, but her situation wasn鈥檛 deemed an emergency, and she never received assistance in finding somewhere to stay; in November she said she was no family rooms were available. So they began living out of a van, frequently parking in the casino garage where her two children died. It was only after that tragedy that she was finally given a spot in a shelter.

Homelessness has seen a sharp uptick across the country in recent years, but the increase has been the most dramatic for families with children age 5 and younger, multiple data sources suggest. 鈥淭he most common age that someone is in shelter nationally is under the age of 5,鈥� said Henry Love, vice president for public policy & strategy at Win, the largest provider of family shelters in New York City. This trend means more and more families with young children are scrambling to find somewhere to live.

This housing instability can have a lasting impact on children, affecting their cognitive and social-emotional development and leading to learning delays and academic challenges. Those challenges are likely to follow them throughout their education and even later into their lives.

In its of homelessness in America, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that the number of homeless people increased by 18% last year, reaching the highest level ever recorded. The problem is even more acute for families with children: They experienced the largest single-year increase, with a rate that climbed by 39% between 2023 and 2024. That came after a increase in homelessness for families with children in 2023.

Those numbers are alarming, said Donald H. Whitehead, Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, even as he noted that the department鈥檚 data is an undercount due to challenges with identifying homeless people and how they鈥檙e classified.

HUD doesn鈥檛 break the data down further by children鈥檚 age. But other sources indicate that the youngest children are increasingly at risk of living in homelessness. 鈥淲hat we know to be true is more young kids are experiencing homelessness,鈥� said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a nonprofit focused on homelessness and education.

According to an estimate generated by SchoolHouse Connection and the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan, there were 681,180 children nationally under age 6 experiencing homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year, the most recent data. That represents an approximately 23% increase over the 2021-2022 school year, 鈥渢wice the increase for school-aged children,鈥� Duffield said in an interview. The nonprofit expects to publish the data in April.

In January, SchoolHouse Connection for the 2022-2023 school year, showing that 451,369 children ages 3 and younger were experiencing homelessness that year. That represents about a 24% increase over the 2021-2022 school year. 

The same trend appears in more recent for children attending Head Start, which provides free early childhood education to low-income children below the age of 4. Homelessness among those children rose nearly 13% between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, the largest increase since the start of the pandemic. Overall, the figure for children attending Head Start is up 28% since the 2021-2022 school year. 

The increases are 鈥渦nfortunately consistent across data sources,鈥� said Erin Patterson, director of education initiatives at SchoolHouse Connection.

The higher numbers could reflect better efforts to locate children experiencing homelessness. The American Rescue Plan provided $800 million in pandemic-relief funding that to identify more children in unstable housing. Head Start鈥檚 former director, Khari Garvin, was particularly on increasing enrollment among homeless children. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 about finding and enrolling and identifying, that鈥檚 a good thing,鈥� Duffield said. 

But the increases are also driven by troubling forces. Pandemic-era protections and funding that helped keep people housed have come to an end. Until it was by the Supreme Court in August 2021, a federal eviction moratorium barred eligible tenants from being kicked out of their homes; state and local eviction moratoria lasted longer, with Oakland, California鈥檚 in July 2023. Some converted empty hotels to housing for homeless people. States from Congress鈥檚 CARES Act to offer rental assistance, and then Congress passed two rounds of rental assistance totaling $46.5 billion. All of those measures have now expired.

In the meantime, the cost of housing has climbed dramatically nationwide. Rents 29% between 2019 and 2023, far outpacing income growth, and last year a record number of American households spent more than 30% of their incomes on housing. Such increases often trigger evictions, and the people of eviction are families with babies and toddlers. 

Homelessness among young children may also have risen with the arrival of migrant families, many of whom had nowhere to stay except shelters. Domestic violence often forces victims and their children to flee their housing situations and enter shelter systems, and there was an in such incidents during the pandemic. Many families have also recently been pushed out of their housing by natural disasters, from the flooding in North Carolina to the fires in Los Angeles. 鈥淭hose have lingering effects,鈥� Duffield said. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 get their feet right away and the more vulnerable you are the longer it takes.鈥�

Having children is also expensive and can tip families into poverty. Research has that a quarter of all poverty spells start with the birth of a child. 鈥淧eople who are on the cusp can quickly slide into homelessness,鈥� Patterson said. 

Even as homelessness among young children and their families is on the rise, they often get left out of homeless counts and homeless services. The vast majority of these families don鈥檛 live on streets or in shelters, but instead double up inside friends鈥� and families鈥� homes, which HUD doesn鈥檛 count as technically homeless and may be harder to identify. Others live in motels and hotels, which again doesn鈥檛 count for HUD鈥檚 purposes. 

鈥淭he homelessness system itself doesn鈥檛 see families with young children and it doesn鈥檛 prioritize them,鈥� Duffield said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e often an afterthought.鈥� As Williams鈥檚 story showed, they can get turned away if they technically have somewhere to sleep, like a car or a couch.

By contrast, the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which provides school districts with money to support students experiencing homelessness, includes in its count those who are living with other families, in hotels and motels, or in substandard conditions. 

The difference shows up in the data. The U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 estimate of the number of homeless students has since 2004, with a spike during Hurricane Katrina and a dip during the pandemic. And yet the number of homeless families reported by HUD has remained relatively flat in comparison over all of those years. 

One thing is clear, though: Homelessness has huge ramifications for young children. 鈥淚t is a traumatic experience,鈥� Whitehead said.

Research has found that children who experience homelessness are to have developmental delays. It can even interrupt such basics as potty training. Housing instability means many families move frequently between schools, disrupting a child鈥檚 education. 鈥淎s a former teacher, if a child can鈥檛 feel safe and is not stabilized, they can鈥檛 learn,鈥� Love said. 

Children who experience homelessness are more likely to and suffer from . Once they reach school age, homelessness is tied directly to higher absenteeism rates and lower test scores.

鈥淎ny experience of homelessness, even short-lived, can impact a child鈥檚 development even after the family has been stably housed,鈥� Patterson said. But, she added, 鈥淭he younger and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll of negative outcomes.鈥�

Enrolling children in safe, high-quality early education programs can mitigate those issues and 鈥渉elp create a sense of normalcy and calm in otherwise tumultuous and toxic circumstances,鈥� Patterson said. But just 7.4% of Head Start eligible children who were homeless in 2023-2024 were actually enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start. Young children in public pre-K classrooms or Head Start programs run by school districts can receive help through the McKinney-Vento Act with transportation, food and other priorities.

Other solutions range from the specific to the systematic. Prioritizing homeless families for services, including early childhood education, could help. More accurate counts would also give a clearer picture of who is homeless. Another solution would be to offer more housing vouchers targeted for this population, similar to those offered to veterans or unaccompanied youth, or simply to provide cash without strings attached.

鈥淕ive people money,鈥� Love said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really the crux of it. People are under-resourced.鈥�

At the same time, schools are struggling to bring down high absenteeism rates that undermine academic achievement and school climate. While there鈥檚 been some progress since the pandemic, far more students are missing a month or more of school than in 2019. The rates are particularly high among homeless students: of them were chronically absent in the 2022-23 school year, compared with about 28% of all students and 36% of those who are economically disadvantaged.

These results are hardly surprising: The constant moves that come with homelessness often leave children far from their schools and without an easy way to get there. Hunger, lack of clean clothes and mental or physical illnesses complicate the picture. 

Our organizations, SchoolHouse Connection and Attendance Works, spent the past six months interviewing school leaders across the country to learn how districts are bringing students without stable housing back to school. reflect common-sense approaches driven by data and cloaked in compassion.

The first step is to identify the students who need help. The federal provides school districts with money for transportation, staffing and other assistance to students residing in shelters, cars and motels, as well as those staying temporarily with other people. But many families and youth don鈥檛 realize they qualify for extra help from the school district, and others are afraid or embarrassed to say they are homeless.

School districts are adjusting their to reflect different sorts of temporary living arrangements. And they鈥檙e training all school staff, from attendance clerks to counselors to administrators, to recognize the signs of homelessness. Even tardiness or poor attendance can be a tipoff that families have lost their homes.

Some districts are going further. In Henrico County, Virginia, the McKinney-Vento team hosts summer events at Richmond-area motels where homeless families live and signs students up for services. In Albuquerque, team members visit homeless shelters and RV parks.

Once students are identified, districts need to track what鈥檚 happening with their attendance and update the data regularly. Many districts are using that focus on addressing the factors that keep students from showing up, such as transportation, hunger and depression. 

In California鈥檚 Coalinga-Huron Unified School District, for instance, officials at each school once a week with a list of homeless students and review academics, attendance and other indicators. They emerge with action items for helping students, whether it鈥檚 rearranging a school bus route, bringing in a counselor or connecting the family to food and other services. Coalinga-Huron鈥檚 efforts are supported by real-time data analysis from the Fresno County Office of Education. 

In the small rural district and elsewhere, transportation remains one of the biggest barriers to school attendance for homeless students. Recognizing this, the McKinney-Vento Act requires districts to provide eligible students with a way to get to their 鈥渟chool of origin鈥� if it is in their best interest. This often creates logistical challenges. 

For students living beyond school bus lines, some districts use vans or car services with drivers vetted for safety. But the costs can be high, and drivers are sometimes in short supply. Others offer gas cards to parents or student drivers. The Oxford Hills School District in Maine paid for one student鈥檚 driver鈥檚 education course.

The challenges go beyond expenses. Henrico County created school bus stops for homeless children living at motels but found the kids were embarrassed for their classmates to see where they lived. The district then changed the routes so the motels were the first stop of the day and the final stop in the afternoon. 

Depression and anxiety can also contribute to absenteeism. Near Denver, Adams 12 Five Star School District matches youth experiencing homelessness with mentors for a 15-hour independent study focused on academic goals, social-emotional development and postsecondary options. Kansas City, Kansas, uses a 鈥�2 x 10鈥� approach, with a staff member spending two minutes talking to each at-risk student for 10 consecutive days.

It鈥檚 also key to reach families, many of whom report feeling unwelcome at school or embarrassed by their living situations. Fresno Unified School District in California hosts parent advisories to discuss challenges that are keeping homeless students from attending school. Adams 12 hired a diverse team of specialists whose backgrounds include some of the experiences that their students are living through, including poverty, immigration and homelessness. Henrico County spent some of its federal COVID relief funding for two years of Spanish lessons that help the McKinney-Vento team members communicate with families more easily.

This work takes coordination across departments, so that district staffers who concentrate on homeless students work closely with those monitoring school attendance. It also requires strong relationships with community-based organizations.

Several districts use a approach that coordinates nonprofits and government agencies in supporting students and families. In Coalinga-Huron, where families often have trouble accessing social services located more than an hour away in the county seat of Fresno, the district offers nonprofit organizations space to provide immigration services and language instruction, as well as a food pantry, clothing closet and health clinic.

Several states have also launched grant programs or provide funding specifically for students experiencing homelessness. In Washington state, a funds North Thurston Public School鈥檚 student navigator program that connects each homeless student with a staff member. Adams 12 relies in part on Colorado鈥檚 to pay the salaries for some of the specialists on its team. 

These districts are using data-driven approaches to improve attendance for homeless students. And they鈥檙e doing it with compassion and heart. They recognize that these absences mean weaker academic performance and higher dropout rates. In some places, the absences affect school funding, leaving less money available.

As the homelessness rate continues to rise, districts should adopt these common-sense approaches to identifying students, tracking data and addressing barriers with community, state and federal support.

SchoolHouse Connection and Attendance Works are hosting to explore the findings at 1 p.m. Eastern March 13 and 18. A SchoolHouse Connection-University of Michigan database provides for homeless students at the district, county and state levels.

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and Overdeck Family Foundation provide financial support to Attendance Works and 社区黑料.

Her son spent four months in New York City schools without receiving his legally required services while school officials developed a new IEP from scratch and family memory. Asking his school back in Delaware for a copy would have been too risky 鈥� the abuser could contact the school to figure out where they鈥檇 fled.

The family, whose names are being withheld for safety reasons, is one of many whom school systems have failed to serve properly due to a lack of clear safety plans and policies for families experiencing domestic violence, a persistent driver of homelessness. 

Nationwide, at least 80% of women with children experiencing homelessness also experienced domestic violence, and . In alone, roughly 40,000 people became survivors in 2022. 

In fact, more families entered the city鈥檚 Department of Housing Services shelters due to domestic violence () than evictions (11%). 

With at least 146,000 children experiencing homelessness in New York City and domestic violence on the rise, advocates, experts and families are and urging schools to develop clear safety plans with shelter staff to better support survivors. 

Even when families disclosed instances of domestic violence to schools and asked them to alter contact information, New York City schools failed to immediately update student profiles and contacted dangerous individuals on several occasions. Some survivors were forced to seek emergency shelter and school transfers out of their borough as a result, said Janyll Canals-Kernizan, director of the Robin Hood project with Advocates for Children of New York.

Some school staff have misguidedly asked survivors for confidential domestic violence shelter addresses, or refused to set up busing because they claimed P.O. box numbers are unacceptable. The lack of clear guidance has produced harmful ripple effects on families, including limiting kids鈥� ability to get to school and feel safe and stable once there, as well as parents鈥� ability to attend work.

鈥淚’ve had families have to pick between participating in an economic empowerment program or taking their kid to school because the bus has never been set up and now they can never get to their economic empowerment program, which means then that they can never really establish independence and get out of shelter 鈥� All of that is interrelated in a way that we don’t talk about,鈥� said Canals-Kernizan, an attorney who represents families facing school-based discrimination.

Beyond the challenge of affording housing, survivors navigate 鈥渓ong lasting鈥� consequences of physical, psychological and financial abuse, which requires individualized case management and makes finding secure housing even more difficult, said Gabbi Sandoval Requena, director of policy and communications with New Destiny Housing, a nonprofit providing permanent housing and social services to survivors in NYC.

鈥淎buse and gender-based violence is really all about power and control. It usually starts gradually, and it’s really hard for a survivor to sometimes acknowledge that they’re in a situation of abuse,鈥� she told 社区黑料. 

Abusers often isolate their partner from finances, managing any money they earn from work but not letting them access accounts. Some use the survivors鈥� Social Security number to open credit cards without their consent, destroying their credit score. The survivors may have no history of being on a lease, leaving them unable to provide rental references. 

These are the 鈥渃onsequences that are often undealt with because they’re in crisis mode, trying to just survive day by day,鈥� Sandoval Requena said. 

Today, nearly all residents in NYC鈥檚 Human Resources Administration-run domestic violence shelters 鈥� the largest network in the country 鈥� are Black and brown families with children. The facilities are often at capacity, housing about 10,000 people, and have a stay limit of 180 days, while offering specialized programs for kids and parents. 

In the Department of Housing Services shelters, open to all NYC residents without homes, about a third are families with kids. Altogether, one in three of New York state鈥檚 unhoused residents are children. 

Statewide, experience intimate partner abuse, considered a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2023, 10% more people were entered into New York鈥檚 Domestic Violence Registry for orders of protection. Around the same time, homelessness . 

Although any children experiencing homelessness should have protections to accessing stable education under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, in reality, their experiences vary. 

Families facing shelter limits are moved frequently, sometimes across boroughs, posing an inordinate strain on childrens鈥� education. From safety scares and hour-long trains to needing to work to help support the family, unhoused students comprise a disproportionate amount of chronically absent students. Overall, about 43% New York City students missed 10% or more of the 2022-23 school year. For students experiencing homelessness, .

One Brooklyn mother and survivor from the Caribbean recognized how disruptive school transfers would be on top of her family鈥檚 housing instability. She insisted on keeping her son in the same school even as they moved among shelters across the boroughs four times. 

鈥淚 experienced domestic violence all my life,鈥� said the 45-year-old survivor, whose name is being withheld for safety reasons. She witnessed her father abuse her mother, and left her partner her first year in the United States. 

She and her 鈥渆nergetic鈥� son lived in shelters for three years, moving every six months. Twice, seeing her abuser outside of the domestic violence shelters triggered emergency transfers. 

With her then 5-year old in tow, she鈥檇 leave her upper Manhattan shelter by 6 a.m. on the dot to get to his Brooklyn elementary school by 7:45. 

She never received any MetroCards from the schools or shelters, commonly provided for free. Over the years, she had to attend housing court and incurred three fare evasion tickets, which her mother helped pay from the Caribbean. 

Against the urging of the shelter staff, she insisted on keeping her son, now 9, in his Brooklyn school. Changing schools 鈥渨ould not have done him any good,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e all need stability, especially children.鈥�

With the help of a case manager from New Destiny Housing, the mother navigated the process of applying for apartments until securing one of the nonprofit鈥檚 377 units. 鈥淪he stood by my side, all the way. She took me very seriously,鈥� the survivor said, adding that each time they checked in biweekly, she felt certain something would get done. 

At New Destiny Housing, over 1,000 New Yorkers receive on-site services like financial coaching, food pantries and art therapy. Family residents can opt-in for field trips to Broadway shows, baseball games and museums 鈥� efforts to challenge the cycle of abuse and 鈥渇or kids to be kids and to enjoy the joy of living in New York City, something that they never had access to before,鈥� said Sandoval Requena. 

The survivor said that her son is now 鈥渙utspoken 鈥� he knows what he wants.鈥� She attends support groups with other families, hearing and sharing what they鈥檝e gone through, and credits the case manager as critical in their journey. 

Their new home is about a 25-minute commute from her son鈥檚 school, a far cry from the nearly two-hour, one-way commute from their Manhattan shelters. 

鈥淚鈥檓 there at every PTA meeting, every parent teacher conference. Every show that they are having, every Funky Friday. I am here for every single thing.鈥�  

New , released today by nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York revealed around 27,000 more students experienced homelessness than in 2022-23 for a total of 146,000 children. Roughly one in eight children lacked a permanent place to call home.

An influx of and a have likely contributed to the stark increase, experts said, outside of persistent drivers like the city鈥檚 . 

The 23% increase after a decade of mostly under 10% increases has alarmed education and housing advocates who called for the city, state and department of education to address shortages, , expand , improve the , and prioritize placing students into housing nearest to their school. 

According to the latest demographic data of students in temporary housing available from the 2022-23 school year, one in three were English language learners and nearly all were Black or Latino. 

This marks the ninth consecutive year student homelessness has exceeded 100,000. The latest tally of students could fill all seats in Yankee Stadium nearly three times over. Each of the city鈥檚 32 school districts saw increases, but students experiencing homelessness were most highly concentrated in the south Bronx, upper Manhattan, and central Brooklyn鈥檚 Brownsville and Bushwick, where the city鈥檚 largest shelters are.

鈥淭he challenges remain stubbornly persistent,鈥� said Jennifer Pringle, director of AFC鈥檚 Learners in Temporary Housing Project. 鈥�…If we’re [going to] talk about ending family homelessness, we need to make sure that education is front and center. Young adults who don’t have a high school diploma are four to five times more likely to experience homelessness as adults. We have to make sure that our young people right now in shelter are getting the support that they need, so they graduate and flourish beyond high school.鈥�

The numbers, while unsurprising to experts familiar with the growing crisis, are likely still an undercount as to how many children are experiencing homelessness. Data capture only school-aged children, but 鈥渢he most common age that someone is in shelter is under the age of 5,鈥� said Henry Love, vice president of public policy and strategy with Women in Need, the city and nation鈥檚 largest shelter provider. 

鈥淲e’re probably talking about a quarter of a million or 200,000 children, at least,鈥� Love said, emphasizing families are the main population in shelters today. 鈥淚鈥檓 still wrapping my mind around it.鈥�

He added that the situation has been exacerbated by Mayor Eric Adams鈥� vetoing a package of the City Councils鈥� housing bills, which would have expanded financial assistance to families at risk of homelessness. After the Council attempted to override the vetoes, a . The decision is now being appealed in court, leaving thousands of families in limbo. 

鈥淭he number one thing is if we could keep people in their homes,鈥� he said. 鈥�…We have decided by de facto that instead of giving these kids housing that they deserve, we said, you know what, we’ll give you shelter instead.鈥�

Just over half of last year鈥檚 students who lived in temporary housing were 鈥渄oubled-up,鈥� sharing homes with friends or family, and more than 60,000 spent nights in the city鈥檚 shelters.

Data obtained from the state鈥檚 department of education also revealed alarming education outcomes for students in temporary housing in the 2022-23 school year, the latest available: on state reading and writing tests, proficiency for third through eighth graders was 20 points lower on average; and the high school dropout rate was three times higher than that of their peers. 

Students in shelter experienced the most negative educational impacts, seeing rates of chronic absenteeism closer to 70%, in part due to the city鈥檚 common practice of initially , adding strain to already costly and lengthy transportation routes. 

About 18% of students in shelters had to move schools at least once during the school year, four times the rate for permanently housed students. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 not good for students, it’s not good for the school to have that level of churn among your student population. You think about the connections that kids have to their peers, their teachers and how vital those relationships are and how much they can help a student during a time of housing instability,鈥� AFC鈥檚 Pringle said. 鈥淵et for so many families, they’re forced to contend between these ridiculously long commutes or transferring schools.鈥� 

Mayor Adams鈥� administration also enacted an 鈥渋nhumane鈥� 60-day stay limit on particular shelters, disproportionately impacting the .

In addition to housing policy reforms, adjusting the state鈥檚 per-pupil formula would be critical in boosting kids鈥� educational outcomes by allowing schools to adequately invest in family outreach, attendance improvement, wrap around services with local community organizations, and academic tutoring. 

In a statement, Department of Education spokesperson Chyann Tull said the system has provided 鈥渇ield support, enrollment support, transportation services for students and parents, access to counseling, immunization assistance, and academic support.鈥� 

The city has a goal of placing 85% of students in the same borough as their school, but 鈥渢hey haven鈥檛 gotten anywhere close to that .. more needs to be done there,鈥� Pringle added. 鈥淚 think it’s recognized by the fact that they set a goal that they are not achieving 鈥� they know that they need to do better.鈥�

As of the 2023-2024 school year, LAUSD enrolled 17,245 homeless students, up 26% from the previous school year, according to data the district made public last month.  

The dramatic jump comes as the district struggles with in the enrollment of homeless students, and the that since 2020 propped up programs to aid kids experiencing homelessness.

鈥淚t is heartbreaking that mothers and children would be facing (homelessness) in our community, one of the richest cities in the world,鈥� said LA superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a Sept. 21 press conference, calling the situation 鈥渁 very unusual鈥� scenario. 

But the increase of homeless students is also an intensification of a longstanding trend. During the 2021-2022 school year, there were 11,314 homeless students in the district, with the figure jumping nearly 21% that year to 13,656 in the 2022-23 school year.

Researchers have identified as reasons for rising homelessness in California. Los Angeles, in particular, has some of the most expensive . 

Carvalho, who has spoken publicly about a period in his life when he was homeless while growing up in Miami, said homeless kids face special challenges at school 鈥� and in life generally.

鈥淭hey have many elements in common,鈥� said Carvalho of homeless kids. 鈥淭hey are facing poverty, often English language limitations, immigration.鈥� 

LAUSD has also seen obstacles to boosting homeless students鈥� academic success. In 2022, almost 70% of homeless students in the district were considered chronically absent. Homeless students are also less likely to graduate from high school and go to college. 

Jennifer Kottke, Homeless Education Project director for Los Angeles County, said part of the increase may actually be attributed to better reporting, after state lawmakers in 2022 passed for all families. 

But Kottke also said increases in the cost of housing and food have made it more difficult for families to live comfortably in Los Angeles. 

And the district will soon lose an important source of funding for homeless services, she said. 

Federal American Rescue Plan funding provided to LAUSD and other U.S. districts during COVID-19 pandemic officially expired , although programs paid for by the relief money may continue to operate. 

Part of the money in LAUSD went to services for homeless students, where the funding paid for tutoring services, after-school programs, housing vouchers, and money for toiletries.

Now, many of those programs will be closing, Kottke said. The lack of funding will also affect temporary housing vouchers Los Angeles Unified was able to give families to help them get back up on their feet, and will also force staff cuts, she added.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 all American Rescue Plan funding,鈥� said Kottke. 鈥淥nce those materials are gone, it will be hard to refill them.鈥�

LAUSD must find creative ways to combat rising homelessness, and do so quickly.  

And even though the district faces budgetary pressure on several fronts, Carvalho and the school board continue to push for new programs aimed at boosting outcomes for homeless kids.

Over the summer, the to help combat rising homelessness. And last month the district announced the opening of on-campus clothing boutiques meant to supply school outfits for students who need them.  

This article is part of a collaboration between 社区黑料 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

For the nation鈥檚 homeless students and their families, the pandemic was truly catastrophic. While chronic student absenteeism nearly overall from 16% before the pandemic to nearly 30% by 2021-22 (the latest year for which data is available), the rate for homeless children 鈥� contributing to significant academic challenges. In 2021-22, the high school graduation rate for homeless students was 12 percentage points below that of other low-income children and nearly 18 points below the rate for all students.

As unimaginable as it might seem, the situation could get much worse 鈥� unless Congress steps up soon. Organizations such as the Center on Reinventing Public Education are raising the alarm through reports such as its recent third annual State of the American Student, which focuses on the experiences of special populations during the pandemic. Among these are students experiencing homelessness, who continue to face significant barriers to school attendance and success 鈥� barriers that could be reduced by increases in targeted funding.

But pervasive misconceptions about homelessness have stymied such efforts:

• It鈥檚 mainly an urban problem. It isn鈥檛. Homelessness exists at similar rates in rural, suburban and urban communities.
  
• It鈥檚 mainly a housing problem. It isn鈥檛. For children and youth, homelessness often amounts to school-lessness, and without a high school diploma, the odds greatly increase that they will continue to experience homelessness into adulthood.
  
• Schools can鈥檛 do much about it. The examples below, and many more, show that they can.

During the latter half of the pandemic, public schools received $800 million in federal support specifically for homeless students, thanks to a bipartisan amendment to the American Rescue Plan. Though that was a drop in the bucket compared with the overall $122 billion in emergency funds for K-12 education, that $800 million was eight times the regular federal appropriation for students experiencing homelessness. Before the pandemic, only 1 in 5 school districts received specific funding for homeless students. During the pandemic and early recovery, more than half did.

That money made a huge difference. It made it possible for to establish navigator positions to connect homeless students to a wide range of services, including transportation, early learning, reengagement and community building. Lafayette Parish Schools in Louisiana improved the of students experiencing homelessness by hiring dedicated specialists, and demonstrated what can be done when more funding is designated to support this work. Realizing that families and youth needed help navigating housing assistance and supportive services to stabilize their education and their lives, Michigan鈥檚 Kent Independent School District to pay for a family service coordinator, short-term motel stays and gas cards. (Additional bright spots can be found.)

But with the expiration of pandemic aid at the end of this month, that essential support will go away.

While some states, districts and schools may continue their innovative services for students experiencing homelessness, most will be unable to do so in the face of multiple funding challenges and a homelessness crisis that is worsening.

In response, Congress should match the $800 million in pandemic emergency funding in the annual appropriation for the McKinney-Vento Act鈥檚 Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. At its current level ($129 million a year), the program represents less than .3% of the federal pre-K-12 budget for a population that accounts for at least 3% of all students in those grades. An $800 million annual appropriation would constitute a mere 1.8% of the annual federal education budget and would allow schools to increase access, stability and success for millions more children.

Homelessness is a complex, multi-generational phenomenon. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But for a mere fraction of the education budget, Congress can help prevent homelessness from disrupting the future of millions of students, and avoid the much greater expense of entrenched homelessness and other costly outcomes. Lack of a high school diploma or GED is the single greatest risk factor for homelessness later in life, so targeted educational support at adequate funding levels for these students now is an obvious immediate step that will help all students succeed in the long term.

This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin and Vermont Public reporter Lola Duffort, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.

The motels that serve as emergency shelters in Vermont have been home to hundreds of children. They include 8-year-old Summer, who loves Disney鈥檚 Inside Out and potato chips, and a 6-year-old named Sariyah, who always chooses to go down the biggest slide at the playground near her elementary school.

But as restrictions on the motel program come to bear this fall 鈥� resulting in a mass  鈥� the landscape of available shelter for families with children is particularly tight. 

There were  living in motels before the limits took effect in mid-September, but only 203 shelter units statewide that accept families with children. And those slots, by and large, are already full.

Some will win the shelter lottery when their voucher expires. That鈥檚 the case for Summer and her family, who are moving into a temporary unit managed by Capstone Community Action. Sariyah and her grandmother accepted an offer from a stranger for a place to stay. When those accommodations fell through, they took a charitable donation to help pay for a hotel room.

Other families 鈥� including James and Teala Ouimette and their two young daughters,  last month 鈥� will have no other choice but to pitch a tent. When the Ouimettes tried to access a family shelter in Burlington before leaving their hotel room, they were told it had a lengthy waitlist.

The number of families experiencing homelessness in Vermont has grown precipitously in recent years. Particularly as motel shelter capacity retracts, providers now have to balance the long-term goals of boosting shelter and housing options for families, while triaging those families鈥� acute needs.

鈥淲e just got a request for a cooler to keep milk cold for toddlers at a campground,鈥� said Paul Dragon, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity. 鈥淭his is unprecedented.鈥�

鈥榃e鈥檝e kind of lost control鈥�

Not too long ago, Vermont believed that ending family homelessness outright was within reach. In 2015,  to eliminate child and family homelessness by 2020, which involved giving families with children  and rehabbing run-down housing. And as recently as January 2023,  to solve child homelessness, arguing that doing so would 鈥渉elp break the generational cycle of poverty.鈥�

But as the scale of the problem has grown amid a deepening housing crisis, some feel that goal has slipped out of reach. Not only have the numbers grown, but so have the needs of unhoused families.

鈥淣ow I feel like we鈥檝e kind of lost control,鈥� Dragon said.

An annual federally-mandated census in January , but this census is widely considered to be an undercount, and does not include those who are couch surfing. According to preliminary data collected by the state Agency of Education, which does count couch surfing and other types of doubling up, there were 1,927 unhoused students enrolled in Vermont public schools last school year 鈥� nearly double the figure from five years prior.

Vermont has capacity to shelter 61 households with children at dedicated family shelters that receive state funding. Those family shelters are located in Bennington, Brattleboro, Burlington, Hartford, and in scattered temporary apartments in Washington County, according to information provided by Lily Sojourner, director of the Department for Children and Families鈥� Office of Economic Opportunity. 

Another 82 shelter spaces are available for households experiencing domestic violence (with another nine currently in development), which can include children. Another 60 units can serve families but are also open to a broader population. 

In three Vermont counties 鈥� Orange, Essex, and Grand Isle 鈥� there does not exist a single formal shelter option for families. 

Decades of research has cataloged the  of homelessness on children.  are more likely to have developmental delays, to do poorly in school, and experience higher rates of victimization, bullying, suicidality, substance abuse, and hospitalization. And children who experience homelessness are less likely to have .

Precisely because children are so vulnerable, family shelters are more resource-intensive, space-intensive, and staff-intensive than those serving individuals. And so there are fewer of them.

COTS has long run two family shelters in Burlington. Both are staffed around the clock so families don鈥檛 have to leave during the day, said Rebekah Mott, director of development and communications for the organization. The family shelters also have a dedicated family housing navigator, as well as an education liaison and a new mental health specialist fully-funded through private donations. 

Providers for the most part agree that congregate shelters 鈥� typically, cots or bunk beds lined up in a large space 鈥� aren鈥檛 best for families. Family shelters in Vermont are generally 鈥渟emi-congregate,鈥� meaning families might have their own room, but share a kitchen and common spaces, or fully 鈥渘on-congregate.鈥�

鈥淚 think the prospect of getting one up and running from scratch is probably鈥eems very difficult and overwhelming,鈥� Mott said.

鈥業t鈥檚 shameful, to be really honest鈥�

With shelters full, the city of Burlington has set aside temporary campground space for unhoused families with children, and, alongside the school district, put out a public callout for camping equipment in the wake of the new motel limits taking effect. 

Victor Prussack, the school district鈥檚 engagement director, expressed bewilderment that some students were living outdoors. Citing student privacy rules, he declined to give the precise number.

鈥淚t鈥檚 shameful, to be really honest,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand how we allow that to happen in this day and age and in the state of Vermont.鈥� 

There鈥檚 also a concern amongst local officials that the effort, although perhaps necessary, also endorses the status quo.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 feel great about reaching out to our community and saying, 鈥楬ey, could you give sleeping bags? Could you give tents? Could you give cooking fuel?鈥�,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause to me, that is supporting what the state is not&苍产蝉辫;诲辞颈苍驳.鈥�

Despite their limitations, schools throughout the state are trying to plug in the gaps. They often host food pantries, collect clothes, provide counseling, and, as is federally required, will arrange transportation for their unhoused students, even if seeking shelter forces families to move out of the district.

At the Hilltop Inn in Berlin, a white sedan arrives every school day to bring Summer 45 minutes south to Bradford Elementary. The 8-year-old, who has autism and is now learning to speak in full sentences, is well supported at school, her mother, Kimberlin Gowell said. And the elementary, which she has attended for the last three years, has also become a refuge from life in the motel, which sometimes overwhelms Summer.

鈥淪he loves school,鈥� Gowell said.

But even as schools attempt to provide some measure of material support and constancy for children experiencing homelessness, local school officials say there鈥檚 only so much within their power.

鈥淲e have families reaching out to the school, seeing if there鈥檚 anything we can do to help support them. And the reality is that what we can do in schools is limited,鈥� said Bianca McKeen, the assistant superintendent for the Rutland City school district, where there were 104 unhoused children enrolled last year 鈥� 5% of all students.

鈥楢nywhere I can keep her safe鈥�

Asked how much additional family shelter she thinks the state needs, Sojourner, of the Department for Children and Families, emphasized the need for Vermont to create more housing.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 lose sight of that North Star,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think if someone said, you know, 鈥榃ould you rather build housing or more shelter capacity?鈥� I would want more housing.鈥� 

Dragon agrees that Vermont needs to bolster its housing stock to address homelessness. CVOEO administers a rapid-rehousing program for unhoused families, offering vouchers for rental assistance. But 60 families have vouchers in hand 鈥� including some who are being exited from the motel program 鈥� and can鈥檛 find anywhere to use them, Dragon said.

鈥淚 think in lieu of adequate housing for families, we have to provide more shelters, especially if we鈥檙e not going to continue with the hotel program,鈥� Dragon said. 鈥淣obody likes to see more shelters, but that鈥檚 the place that we鈥檙e in.鈥� 

As motel vouchers expire for hundreds of Vermonters over the next few weeks, , including from the very lawmakers who wrote the new limits into law. But for now, families will have to figure out how to survive until the program鈥檚 rules loosen up again in December.

Sariyah and her grandmother, Terri Ann Garrett, briefly stayed with a stranger who reached out to them after  a few weeks ago. They鈥檝e since returned to the Barre motel where they鈥檇 previously had a state voucher; a charitable donation has covered a room for them and Garrett鈥檚 husband. But Garrett doesn鈥檛 know how long that help will last. She is trying to get them into an apartment of their own.

Sometimes, she and Sariyah talk about imagining their dream home. 

鈥淗ers is somewhere with a pool that is all hers, with a Lamborghini,鈥� Garrett said, laughing, as she watched Sariyah run around the playground on a recent afternoon. Then she grew serious.

鈥淢y idea of a perfect home is anywhere I can keep her safe,鈥� she said.

Of the roughly migrants who have arrived in New York City since March 2022, about a are school aged children. Late spring tallies estimate at least have enrolled in the city鈥檚 public school system.

But experts serving them say the approach to housing and by extension school placement 鈥� which includes new families 鈥� is 鈥渉aphazard鈥� at best, threatening the safety and stability of children. 

鈥淲e deal with trauma all the time. We work in homelessness, but what we are experiencing is a whole other level,鈥� said Henry Love, vice president of policy and strategy for Women in Need, the largest family shelter provider in New York City and the nation.

WIN is operating several migrant-specific shelters throughout the city, predominantly converted hotels. 

Love, who holds a doctorate in developmental psychology, explained migrant children are experiencing compounding traumas: violence or instability in their home countries, death and uncertainty during the journey to the U.S., and housing instability in the city. They are still in survival mode, and many are experiencing PTSD while attempting to find normalcy in schools. 

鈥淲e’re not putting the resources into these kids for them to be able to grow and develop in the best way possible,鈥� said Love. 鈥溾�� We’ve been in this for two years, we’re going to continue to be in emergency mode. At some point, we have to think about what’s happening for these kids long term.鈥�

In conversation with 社区黑料, Love discusses what migrant youth are experiencing in the city today and the failures of the systems serving them, while cautioning against the creation of a separate housing system for migrants. 

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Thinking about this particular population of newcomers, what鈥檚 top of mind for you right now? 

The kids. I feel like that’s been the issue from the onset of this. I’m a former educator, I used to teach elementary school. Just knowing what these kids have gone through, and how young so many of them are, and how critical this age is in their development 鈥� the majority of the young people that we have who are asylum seekers are under the age of 6 or 7. 

My barber, who’s from Venezuela, came with his son. He’s 56, telling me the story: Seeing a baby get his head smashed in and dying. Seeing dead bodies on the way up through . All this stuff. What does that do to a six year old? 

This is what I’ve heard from every single parent that I have talked to about what they’ve gone through to get their kids and their families here. There鈥檚 base level trauma of what caused them to leave wherever in the first place. And then there’s the trauma on the journey. And then there’s a trauma at the border. And then there’s the trauma being shipped to New York. And then there’s the trauma of being homeless here. 

On top of that, now for no reason besides to harass people, [New York City] is gonna do the 60 day eviction rule? There’s no words for just how cruel that is. What does this mean, for a population that specifically needs to be stabilized more than any other population, and we’re doing one of the things that is the most destabilizing?

How have you seen eviction orders play out?

I feel like it’s purposely complicated.

Basically, for the purpose of this conversation, we’ll say there’s two systems. Agencies that fall under the jurisdiction of the city are having shelters open up underneath them, like Housing Preservation and Development, Emergency Management.

Then there’s the Health and Hospitals system 鈥� unique because it鈥檚 a quasi-gov agency. Because of that, the right to shelter doesn鈥檛 apply the same way to them as they do to the rest of the city agencies. [The 60-day rule is under effect for families with children staying in .] That’s also why we think that the Mayor is trying to get people into these places. 

Most families are in facilities that don’t have a 60 day order, but what we are experiencing is horrible. What the city has been doing is sending all of the families out of Department of Homeless Services tier two shelters, which is mostly what we run and specialize in, and into migrant facilities. They are mostly hotels. 

It鈥檚 short notice. We’ve had buses just pull up like 鈥済et on鈥� and we’re like, what? What’s happening? 

Same day eviction sort of thing? 

It’s a same-day eviction. We were like, 鈥渨e need notification. What 鈥� you want 30-40 families?鈥� We push back on that. 

There was also another incident where we got notified within 24 hours. We communicated to the families at this particular [Brooklyn] site. When we first opened this shelter in that space a few years ago, there was so much pushback from community members against the opening of a homeless shelter. Eventually what happened was like some of the community members did a petition and they allowed us to open it. After that, there was a much better relationship with the school. 

All that to say that when we had an influx of folks coming into our sites, particularly asylum seekers, all of them went to this one elementary school. Their PTA has just loved all these families. When they heard about this [move] notification, they were like, what the hell? They organized a protest 鈥� It鈥檚 been beautiful to witness. 

There’s limited things that we can do. We can’t tell them no, we can鈥檛 stop them. We say, we can’t force you all to get on the buses, but eventually DHS police will come. And that’ll be really ugly. I don’t have words to describe sitting down with the PTA moms who were asylum seekers 鈥� they’re begging me to not transfer them. 

One of the women took her phone out and had this really heartbreaking story from her 11 year old who was at school and was texting her, 鈥淢ommy, I鈥檓 afraid to come home, the police could be there.鈥� That is what these folks are experiencing during this. 

I’m seeing that transferring regularly 鈥� from our facilities to another which doesn’t have the 60 day rule. But forced transfers like that, that are all of a sudden, are very inhumane. I can鈥檛 even fathom what’s happening for those kids. And some of them are having to do this every 60 days. 

Thank you for sharing those stories. You mentioned this was happening pretty regularly, sometimes 30 to 40 families at once. How and when were you able to successfully push back? 

I guess [we were sometimes successful] in terms of delaying, but ultimately, the city’s argument is, 鈥榳e’re transferring to the migrant facilities because we’re gonna provide better services.鈥� We know that’s just not true. It’s unequivocally untrue. 

We opened up a migrant facility, took it over from the city. They had minimal services. They didn’t have anyone that spoke Spanish on staff. Once we put our staff in who spoke Spanish 鈥� we only hired people that did 鈥� there was a line out the door. 

They’re like, oh, 鈥榳e’re providing legal services.鈥� No, they’re not. 鈥極h, we’re providing food.鈥� I’ve never seen more disgusting food in my life, and I have seen prison foods and all kinds of stuff. 

Again, this is in the migrant facilities specifically? 

This is in the DHS migrant hotels where most of the families are, but there are still some families in the Health and Hospitals sites. Those are the big ones like Floyd Bennet Field [in southern Brooklyn]. Floyd Bennett is not a place where a child should ever be. It鈥檚 semi-congregate, it鈥檚 unsafe. 

We saw what happened when there was that bad storm a few months ago. Everybody at the last minute was forced to down the street. 

Are there loopholes you鈥檝e been seeing used to move families in other shelters? 

No, because of the court mandate [of the right to shelter]. But my concern based on how the city is moving is that they’re trying to create two separate and unequal systems. 

Every time they’re separate, they’re always unequal because they’re not resourced the same way. This is our history in this country. Their justification is that they’re providing specialized X Y and Z [in migrant shelters], which is the same thing they said for segregated schools in the South. 

I think that they will eventually try to ask the courts and the powers that be to apply the 60 day rule to DHS migrant facilities. They haven’t done that yet. 

It鈥檚 murky. This has always been my question to them, OK, so when does somebody become a New Yorker? Is it two years? A lot of these folks have timed out and are undocumented. Do all of our undocumented families have to go through this system too? Is it 10 years? When do they get to use the New Yorker system? 

What have you been hearing and seeing about their needs that you feel like is being ignored right now? 

The kids and the trauma 鈥� I feel like no one’s talking about the kids at a very basic level in all of this. This is arguably one of the biggest issues of the presidential election, and no one is talking about the fact that the majority of these folks are families with kids.

We deal with trauma all the time. We work in homelessness, but what we are experiencing is a whole other level. We’re not putting the resources into these kids for them to be able to grow and develop in the best way possible. 

Like I said, they’ve seen violence where they came from, which is often what made them leave 鈥� then they come here and it’s complete destabilization and chaos. The only rationale for the 60 day rule is to harass people, make them not want to come to New York.

Some I’m imagining are experiencing PTSD in your care as well. How are they finding support?

The moms to me was a highlight 鈥� how they’re helping families navigate all this, advocating. Yes, I feel some kind of way that I’m getting screamed at by this group of angry Park Slope moms. But at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing that these women are out here all day fighting for each other. 

We had a group of kids that went to Central Park and a couple of them freaked out. I’m like, why? 

鈥楤ecause it reminded them of the .鈥�

So for us as an organization, we’ve been thinking about trauma informed care. What does that look like for kids that have arguably been through some of the most intense trauma on earth?

How we think about our colors, how we’re interacting with folks, language access. Particularly in our migrant facility in the Bronx, we tried to be able to connect folks into the community. Part of the reason we took the shelter was because of where it was located 鈥� we knew we were gonna get lots of people who were gonna be Spanish speaking and this is a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. Just being intentional, because I think so much of what has happened in the past two years has been completely unintentional. 

It’s in emergency mode. But we’ve been in this for two years, we’re going to continue to be in emergency mode. At some point, we have to think about what’s happening for these kids long term. 

Most places haven’t really opened Pandora’s Box because they haven’t had the language access, particularly for mental health services. And if they did it all this stuff would come up. What’s happening is that it’s not, and honestly, in the first six months to year, people are still in shock. But now it’s coming out. It manifests in these really weird and interesting ways. 

We’re talking tens and tens of thousands of the kids that need very specialized support. They may not be able to express it in our language, they may not be getting the services that they need and, or their parents may not know or be familiar with how to navigate our systems. 

I get my haircut, and [my barber] is speaking to me in English the whole time. I was like, how long have you been here? Five months. I’m like, you’re fluent. How did you do that? 鈥業 want to learn English, I want to be here, I want to work.鈥� We have not given folks the resources they need to be able to do that. 

The wait time for work permits is also exorbitantly long. Can you share about the work that families have been able to find? 

Honestly, I haven’t heard very many people who are recent arrivals, who came after March 2022, who have work authorization and can legally work. 

People mostly are working out the books. Everybody’s working. And they have to, to survive. 

More so for the men is delivery, which has been interesting. There might be someone who has a Doordash account and he might rent his out to like two or three other people. It may look like he’s doing 12 or 20 hour shifts, but he’s actually doing like, maybe a five hour shift. If you go to any of the migrant facilities, there’s just tons and tons of scooters and motorbikes because that’s what they do. 

For the women, I鈥檝e heard a whole host of different things like cleaning. The folks who are vending on the streets and so forth 鈥� we’ve seen that skyrocket, because folks have very limited options. 

People find a way, working manual or dangerous jobs that are often . 

We’ve seen that. We do legal clinics and help them with asylum applications and there was one woman who didn’t show up because she was like, I will lose my job. My boss said I would lose my job. We’re like, well, you need to come here so you can legally work. They feel, but if I do, I might not have a job at all. They dangle [employment] over their heads. 

Often, they’ll say, oh, I’m gonna pay you next week. And then they don’t pay the next week. 

Everywhere you turn in New York, you see and feel this population. Recently a ; . 

It鈥檚 a cultural thing. People are here and they’re used to doing certain things maybe in Honduras or Sudan and they can’t do that here with their kids. 

Specifically in shelters, like not being able to leave your 17 year old child at home. You can’t leave anyone in the shelter alone under the age of 18. There’s a lot of these situations where it’s like, if I’m a mom and I’m struggling and I have my four year old that has to be with me and I can’t afford daycare, he’s gonna come with me and we’re gonna sell candy. [That cultural difference] is putting them in really precarious situations. 

And then Mayor Adams鈥檚 administration 鈥� were passing out flyers about, don’t have your kids street vending. As if that was going to make people stop. 

That鈥檚 a piece to this conversation, too, that I think people have not thought a lot about. [Families] may have been in a situation where they’ve never been under surveillance now they’re under hyper surveillance. Their movement restricted. 

For a lot of them, schools become the most stable place in their new lives. Our prior reporting showed some of the relationships jeopardized by the 60 day eviction rule and forced transfers. Can you talk a bit about whether you鈥檝e seen families successfully enroll and stay in a given school?

My barber was just showing pictures of his son at school, how he was so excited to go learn and have friends, be social and play. It allows them to escape. The one thing that [the city] could not do is to mess up the kids鈥� schooling. At least let the kids go to school. 

In your experience working with these various city agencies, what has concerned you the most?

They are still thinking the way they did about this in August of 2022. Advocates and everyone had warned them about all this years prior. People knew this was coming.

It鈥檚 not Governor Abbott – I mean he exacerbated it – but it wasn’t just him. This has been happening for a decade, but people have chosen not to pay attention to it. 

The thing that keeps me up at night is the election and Trump’s immigration plan. Now we have created these systems where basically we’re going to have tens of thousands of kids [like DHS migrant facilities]. Will immigration buses show up and detain people? What does a mass deportation look like? That’s the thing that worries me the most 鈥� what are they thinking, are they planning for this? 

The other thing is the way that Adams鈥檚 administration has gone about advocating for support from the federal government and the state has been deplorable. We need more resources, we need more support. But [their support] has been haphazard, and they are not thinking about this long term. People are in mass migration around the world that’s not about to stop any time soon. It’s just an utter disregard for reality. 

One last question 鈥� the youth that were in Central Park and were triggered when reminded of the journey here, what happened that day? How are they?

I don’t know what the rest of the story was. I heard about it because at our migrant facility, we created a program called LEAD, which is legal empowerment and assistance for displaced families. We provide legal support but also social emotional services. The director has tons of stories.

The asylum process is horrible. It’s the least trauma-informed thing ever 鈥� basically tell me about the most messed up thing that’s ever happened to you in detail. We had many people breaking down. We were very mindful of who it was happening to, making sure that they were followed up with a clinical social worker to get some support. How do we make sure they have someone with them that they feel can support them? How do we make sure that if they’re couples that we break them up [to talk] because there might be domestic violence? Making sure they have food, making sure they have childcare so the kids aren’t hearing some of the stuff that may have caused them to leave. 

This is all a work in progress and for us, we’re trying to learn what a longer term model looks like to support families that are going through this level of trauma. 

When I was talking to one mom, I was like, look, my hands are really tight. The best thing that you can do is tell your stories. People need to hear this. People need to see the pain, they need to see what you’re going through. 

Alaska school districts risk losing access to up to several hundred thousand dollars in federal funding aimed at homeless students if they aren鈥檛 able to commit to spending it by the end of September.

The was included in a federal law providing pandemic relief, and national advocates have been pushing for Congress to extend the deadline, as it became clear that money could go unspent.

The exact amount Alaska districts could lose isn鈥檛 clear. Alaska districts have spent nearly 70% of their $2.3 million boost, leaving more than $700,000 unspent, according to the . The Department of Education and Early Childhood did not respond to a request for the most up-to-date figure or whether districts are on-track to spend down the balances.

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U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, worked on an amendment to the 2021 American Rescue Plan that secured $800 million nationally for students experiencing homelessness nationwide. Alaska districts received about eight times their usual annual funding.

The National Conference of State Legislatures called on Congress to extend the timeline to spend the money, under the terms of a longstanding federal law, known as the , aimed at ensuring homeless children鈥檚 access to schooling.

Barbara Duffield, the executive director of the national advocacy group SchoolHouse Connection, said the NCSL鈥檚 resolution is significant, even if it is likely too late for an extension from Congress.

鈥淭he window for that extension, sadly, has gone,鈥� Duffield said. 鈥淣ot for a valiant and a smart and a popular fight, but because of all these other dysfunctions in Congress.鈥�

She said the resolution did more than ask for an extension; it showed the importance of the funding across states and territories.

鈥淚t puts a body of state legislators on record as saying we should have had more time. And moving forward, there needs to be more of a priority in investing in this population,鈥� Duffield said.

The most recent state data shows that , and that the number has risen over the last several years. Most of those students live with another family, but about a fifth live in shelters and 10% are unsheltered.

Increased funding and programs typically leads districts to identify more students who are homeless, according to SchoolHouse Connection鈥檚 research. That data shows that the actual number of students that are homeless is typically 50-100% more than the official school count.

School districts in Anchorage and Kenai used the money to bring on additional staff to work with unhoused students. The Child in Transition Program in the Anchorage School District used its additional funding to hire two full-time staff for remote sites and five part-time staff in high schools that are there to support students on campus and connect them to services. David Mayo-Kiely runs the program, which has operated since the 1990s and has 10 staff members.

鈥淭hey check in on attendance, they check in on grades. They鈥檙e just sort of there to be another ally for these students, someone they can go to,鈥� he said.

Those roles are important because of how homelessness can negatively affect students at school. Students who are homeless are chronically absent at roughly the rate of their housed peers, which is known to be detrimental to academic performance. They are also nearly 30% less likely to graduate than their housed peers,.

ASD鈥檚 program also spent money on internet hot spots for students, professional development for the staff, and supplies. Mayo-Kiely said the district will leave only a very small amount of money unspent.

鈥淭he funding has been wonderful for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were interested in having an extended funding, but we had been planning the entire time that this funding would be expiring by the end of this calendar year.鈥�

And he said the funding will have a lasting effect, even though it expires at the end of the year: The investment in staff demonstrated how important those on-campus 鈥渁llies鈥� were for students, so now the district is using money from other grant programs to continue funding them.

The that urged Congress to extend the deadline was a priority of Sen. L枚ki Tobin, D-Anchorage and chair of the Senate Education Committee, after the Alaska Legislature failed to pass a similar resolution drafted by her office. Tobin is a member of the NCSL Education Standing Committee.

鈥淥ur hope with this resolution is to say, 鈥楥ould we continue to use McKinley-Vento funds in this manner 鈥� hiring additional support personnel to provide wraparound services for the entire family?鈥� and also for us to think about how we might be able to reserve some of the remaining funds to continue serving students into the FY25-26 school year,鈥� she said.

The funding that came with the pandemic boost also has more flexible spending rules that mean districts can spend it on student transportation to the same school, even if the student鈥檚 address changes 鈥� such as if they move in with a friend鈥檚 family or begin living in a shelter. Districts can waive certain enrollment requirements temporarily to make sure the student starts on time, and even help with school supplies.

鈥淲e have a significant increase in youth experiencing homelessness that has persisted, and we know that it鈥檚 not going to be an easy fix,鈥� Tobin said. 鈥淧articularly with the lack of affordable housing in the Anchorage bowl, with some of the instability and low wages in some of those entry and mid-level positions. So we鈥檙e really anticipating that this population is going to continue to need additional resources and attention.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com. Follow Alaska Beacon on and .

Kamryn, 18, who graduates next month from Hamilton High School in Culver City and will attend college in the fall, is one of about 15,000 homeless students enrolled in Los Angeles Unified schools 鈥� a figure that has continued to increase in the last three years after a lull during the pandemic.  

鈥淚 tell myself it鈥檚 just temporary, even though it鈥檚 been going on for a while,鈥� said Kamryn of living in the car. 鈥淲hen I’m at school, I do my best to try to not think about it.鈥�

Homelessness is a worsening problem for Los Angeles students, like , superintendent Alberto Carvalho said, which the district is struggling to address 鈥� and the official tally of declared homeless kids in the district, 鈥渋s but the tip of the iceberg.鈥�   

To address the worsening crisis, Carvalho said the school system needs more help from other city agencies and nonprofits. 

鈥淭he solutions for students experiencing homelessness cannot be solely the responsibility of the school district,鈥� said Carvalho at a ceremony last week to honor graduating seniors who are homeless. 

鈥淚t needs to be a community-based approach,鈥� he said, with a 鈥済reater level of collaboration between local social agencies, city and county government alongside the school district.鈥�  

The number of homeless kids in LA schools is growing, Carvalho said. In the 2022-23 school year, LAUSD reported 9,140 homeless students, . 

It鈥檚 the district鈥檚 first increase in homeless students since 2019, when the total increased from 18,000 to 19,000; and then fell to 7,910 in 2021 with the implementation of citywide eviction protections during the pandemic. Those protections expired in February.

The true number of homeless students is much higher than the official figure, he said, because often students do not identify themselves as homeless. 

鈥淭here’s often shame,鈥� said Carvalho, who experienced homelessness as a teen growing up in Miami. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in a condition that you never thought you鈥檇 be in.鈥�

The district is struggling with the surge, he said, because identifying homeless kids is difficult, and because city agencies don鈥檛 always collaborate on services for those kids.    

Homeless teens are among the city鈥檚 most fragile students. They鈥檙e less likely to graduate on time, and more likely to suffer from trauma and mental illness. 

Kamryn and her mother slid into homelessness this year after being evicted from their apartment in December, the girl said. 

The pair stayed with Kamryn鈥檚 brother for a few weeks, but since January have been sleeping in their car, parking the vehicle each night beneath a tree at a city park, putting up visors against the windows for privacy. 

Also participating in last week鈥檚 graduation ceremony was Janai Johnson, who in June will graduate from James Monroe High School. Janai has been homeless for most of her life and is currently living in a shelter with her mother. 

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 always sure where our next school would be,鈥� said Janai. Stress from constantly moving made it hard to study and get enough sleep before class, she said. 

Janai said homelessness 鈥渂eats you down. But it鈥檚 not the things you go through – it鈥檚 how you react to those things.鈥�  

Janai said a counselor at her school helped her succeed by connecting her with a therapist and getting her school supplies. She will attend Cal State Channel Islands next year, and major in child development.   

But kids like Kamryn and Janai are outliers. Homeless kids are far more likely to be chronically absent from school, and more likely to struggle academically and emotionally, Carvalho said.   

To support those students, Carvalho said, LAUSD has an Homeless Education Office that provides training for school staff and direct support to students, such as access to social workers. 

The district has also expanded its community school programs that offer added counseling and tutoring services to students, as well as access to campus-based food pantries and laundry services. 

And in March, for homeless families in the San Fernando Valley. The development, created through a partnership between the district, and , took five years to complete. 

Carvalho said the district hopes to create more housing for homeless families in the future, and that such projects shouldn鈥檛 take so long to complete. 鈥淚鈥檓 very concerned,鈥� said Carvalho of homeless students. 鈥淭hey’re really facing extreme conditions.鈥� 

The number of students in Washington鈥檚 school system experiencing homelessness climbed last year, a new report finds.

Data from the shows that 3.8%, or 42,436 students, experienced homelessness during the 2022-2023 school year.

That鈥檚 up from around 37,000 students during the 2021-2022 school year and roughly 32,000 students the year prior 鈥� though the report notes that remote learning policies during the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to identify and serve these students during those years.

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The increase could reflect both an overall rise in homelessness and school districts鈥� improvements in tracking these students, according to a spokesperson at OSPI鈥檚 Education of Homeless Children and Youth program. Access to more federal funding during the pandemic made it easier for districts to identify and work with students who are homeless.

Identifying students can help districts best serve them in what the report found to be one of the most stable and supportive places for those experiencing housing instability.

鈥淪chools are a safe place for kids,鈥� spokesperson Katy Payne said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 consistent, it鈥檚 reliable.鈥�

Federal law requires all school districts to annually report the number of enrolled students experiencing homelessness. Nationally, there are 1.2 million homeless youth in public schools.

In Washington, 9% of all students who identify as Gender X 鈥� meaning they do not identify as male or female 鈥�  are experiencing homelessness. That鈥檚 compared to 3.9% of all female students and 3.7% of all male students.

Nearly 12% of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander students and more than 7% of American Indian/Alaskan Native students are homeless.

More than 87% of unaccompanied youth, those who are not in the physical custody of a legal parent or guardian, are as well.

The majority of students experiencing homelessness 鈥� 76% 鈥� share housing with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship. More than 10% live in shelters, and another 6% live in hotels or motels. Almost 7% are considered unsheltered, living in cars, parks, campgrounds or abandoned buildings.

Students who are homeless often suffer academically and are more likely to drop out of school or get suspended or expelled than their peers. They also tend to have higher absentee rates, worse test scores and lower graduation rates, according to the report.

Payne said some of these poorer outcomes have shown signs of improvement. 鈥淧art of that is because districts have a better understanding and more awareness about what they鈥檙e responsible for providing for students,鈥� she said.

Although the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction administers state and federal grants to schools, it鈥檚 up to local districts to determine how to coordinate services, like free meals or special funding and programs for low-income or homeless students.

One option is to fund a who works with students to ensure they stay on track toward graduation and participate in extracurricular activities.

Many districts used pandemic-era federal grants to pay for these liaisons and training to help teachers spot students who might not have stable housing.

As that money runs out, it could be up to the state Legislature or Congress to find other ways to fund similar initiatives, according to OSPI.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on and .

It took five years for the project to be completed 鈥� a timeline that did not go unmentioned by representatives of the organizations involved.  

鈥淥nce we know better, we need to do better,鈥� said LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho. 鈥淎nd this time we need to do better and faster. Sun King is evidence that the impossible can be turned into the inevitable.鈥� 

Carvalho called the partnership 鈥渁 first of its kind, a difficult partnership. We have learned, and that learning should result in more projects delivered in a shorter period of time.鈥�

Sun King Apartments, located in the San Fernando Valley just half a mile from Fernangeles Elementary School, was created through a partnership between LAUSD, and .

Services for homeless families have become more important than ever as LA Unified reported a in student homelessness from the previous school year. As of 2023鈥�2024, there were 15,000 students reported homeless in the district. 

鈥淚t was around 2019鈥hen Many Mansions approached us,鈥� said Celina Alvarez, executive director at Housing Works. 鈥淭here’s so many hoops and hurdles and paperwork and financing and service provision鈥t takes quite a while.鈥�

Alvarez said the increase in homelessness is due to two things: rent increases and inadequate trauma services. 

鈥淧eople are getting displaced rapidly and in high numbers,鈥� said Alvarez, 鈥淎 lot of children are coming from households where parents don’t have the knowledge or resources readily available to understand what their rights are in terms of tenant rights.鈥�

The new apartments were especially good news for Annika, a homeless mother who has been living in unstable conditions for years with her daughter Faith and partner, Angel.

鈥淭he years of being homeless moving from couches to park benches to shelters have caused a decline in our emotional, mental, and spiritual health,鈥� said Annika. 鈥淜nowing that we will have a permanent home, we were able to start thinking about what the future truly holds for us.鈥�

The housing complex includes gated parking, an outdoor area and kitchen, a laundry room, and a community garden.  The complex will also have direct services for students such as tutoring, school supplies, summer classes and family gatherings.

This is not the first time LAUSD has partnered with developers to provide housing to teachers and students. In 2017, Los Angeles Unified partnered with , using vacant land just north of Gardena High School Campus to build Sage Park Apartments, a 90-unit complex.

Combined with a lack of mental health services for young people living in poverty it is difficult for students to get the help they need. 

鈥淭here’s people with a lot of unresolved trauma, untreated mental illness. And sometimes they’re coping with illicit substances because they’re easier to access than mental health treatment, 鈥� said Alvarez.

But room rates consume most of the $650 a week her husband earns from construction. The family depends on prepaid grocery cards from the to cover other basic needs.

鈥淲ithout that, we probably wouldn’t be able to eat some days,鈥� Menkedick said.

Gas station cards allow her to get her 17-year-old daughter to school. A T.J. Maxx gift card purchased a dress for the girl’s first dance. The district, she said, has 鈥済one way above and beyond鈥� to help families in such dire situations.

But those services and others like them could soon be jeopardized. The extra $800 million in federal funding districts across the country have relied on to cover emergency expenses for the nation鈥檚 homeless students runs out later this year. 

In , advocates called on lawmakers to extend the spending deadline for another year. Once those funds expire, many will be scrambling to keep serving families in crisis. 

鈥淚 don’t think a lot of people realize 鈥� especially people in Washington, D.C. 鈥� that when they were allocating these funds as a response to COVID, this was money we have actually needed for a really long time,鈥� said Susanne Terry, coordinator of homeless education services for the San Diego County Office Education. 鈥淲e don’t see it as COVID relief; it’s just relief.鈥�

California鈥檚 鈥榤ost vulnerable鈥�

The money came at a critical moment. Since the pandemic, homelessness has continued to rise, with rates hitting last year. Among families with children, there was a over 2022, federal data shows.

The needs are particularly great in California, which has the highest per capita next to Washington, D.C. Last year, the state spent over $7 billion on roughly focused on reducing homelessness, but most of those efforts didn鈥檛 reach students. 

Terry鈥檚 office used some of its $960,000 from the relief program to create a new position, a specialist who helps shelter staff follow outlining services to  homeless students.

The training came at the right time for Veronica Sandoval, the first-ever education coordinator at Father Joe鈥檚 Villages, which runs homeless shelters in San Diego. She was unfamiliar with how to help families, often refugees, who were being turned away from schools because they lacked the required paperwork. The shelter also serves mothers who escaped domestic abuse.

鈥淭heir priority is surviving and making sure that their kiddos are fed,鈥� Sandoval said.  鈥淪ometimes education is not at the top of the list.鈥� 

With the specialist鈥檚 guidance, Sandoval learned how to help parents find transportation, overcome language barriers and navigate the bureaucracy of registering for school. Now, for the first time in the nonprofit鈥檚 70-year history, all of its school-age children 鈥� about 180 鈥�  are enrolled.

Sneakers and backpacks 

The pandemic aid legislation, a bipartisan amendment to the 2021 American Rescue Plan, totaled eight times the amount states typically receive from the federal government to who frequently double up with other families or live out of their cars. Many districts received dedicated funding for homeless students for the first time, according to the SchoolHouse Connection report, which was based on a national survey of over 1,400 homeless liaisons.

Some districts used the money for store and gas cards. Others paid for short-term housing, mental health services and technology like laptops and cellphones. 

More than half of the respondents said they plan to use federal Title I funds to continue some of the services, but 35% don’t plan to provide the same level of support.

Like a 鈥榳idget maker鈥� 

But not all districts have been as efficient as Hacienda La Puente at spending the money. Because the funds will expire later this year, some districts prohibited departments from hiring extra staff that they鈥檇 have to let go.

Without extra personnel to purchase supplies and coordinate short-term hotel stays, finding ways to distribute the funds is often viewed 鈥渓ike an added thing on your plate,鈥� said San Diego’s Terry.

Contracting and purchasing rules have also been 鈥渞oadblocks to quickly and effectively spending鈥� the money, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection. 

She received one email from a frustrated homeless liaison whose request to purchase a van to get students to school was rejected. A state official responded that 鈥渁 yellow school bus鈥� was the best way to get students to school. 

The liaison wrote to Duffield: 鈥淚f we had enough drivers and yellow buses we wouldn鈥檛 be asking for a van.鈥�

Such hurdles help explain why a quarter of the homeless liaisons worry the funds will dry up before they have a chance to spend it. Ohio districts, for example, still have not spent almost half of the $18.8 million they received, according to the state鈥檚 . And have only spent about 45% of the $9.93 million they received.

Liaisons say they need more time to spend the money. Some received it late, and others proposed ideas that were turned down. One New Hampshire district rejected requests to spend the money on eyeglasses, taxis for students and clothes, according to a liaison quoted in the report. Officials said staff first had to 鈥渆xhaust all community resources.鈥�

Those findings echo Jennifer Kottke鈥檚 experience at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, where she serves as a homeless education project director.  The county received over $3 million from the program. She asked to spend $280,000 on school and hygiene supplies 鈥� a request, she said, that should have taken about three months to approve. Instead, it took twice that long. At one point, the paperwork required 12 signatures.

Expected in October, the order arrived just last week. The red tape, she said, hampers her ability to help families in crisis and sometimes makes her feel like another 鈥渨idget maker in the factory.鈥� 

In July, according to California Department of Education data, the Los Angeles office still had over $2.6 million to spend. Kottke used about $400,000 for a tutoring program that has served 500 students, but will terminate at the end of the school year. 

She said she鈥檚 not even sure how much funding is left. Some liaisons across the county鈥檚 80 districts didn鈥檛 even know they had received relief funds specifically for homeless students. The same was true for 24% of liaisons nationally, the survey found.

鈥淭here are days where I just feel like I’m spending so much time generating paperwork, that I’m not getting to the core of what I should be doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’ve got a very vulnerable population. We’re trying to change the landscape of homelessness.鈥�

For 24/7 mental health support in English or Spanish, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration鈥檚 at 800-662-4357. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the by calling or texting 988.

LUFKIN 鈥� Georgia DeVries misses sleeping in a car.

鈥淚t was safer than any house I鈥檝e been in,鈥� the 17-year-old said.

By her count, she鈥檚 lived in at least 13 different places since the sixth grade, including multiple homes with her mom, extended stays with friends and family, and four trips to behavioral health clinics.

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Then last November, after staying with her aunt, she ended up in her now ex-boyfriend鈥檚 broken-down Mitsubishi parked on his family鈥檚 property.

It wasn鈥檛 much, but she felt at peace 鈥� most of the time.

This is how many teenagers in rural Texas experience homelessness: a revolving door of sheltered and unsheltered living, friends鈥� couches, stints with extended family, nights spent outdoors. Homeless shelters are not an option in Lufkin, a town of 34,000, 90 miles south of Tyler, the nearest major city. Shelters here don鈥檛 take unaccompanied minors without reports of violent abuse.

A dearth of shelters is just one way homeless teens in rural areas are at a more significant disadvantage than their urban peers, experts say. A lack of good-paying jobs, poverty and drug abuse can be more common.

Poverty rose in between 2018 and 2022; a majority of those counties are considered rural. East Texas had a higher rate of opioid abuse than the rest of the state, according to a regional needs assessment based on data from 2018 to 2020. Texas, as a whole, was one of eight states where rural communities suffered higher drug overdose rates compared to their urban counterparts, according to a 2022 published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

And teens in rural areas are harder to track, making it more difficult for policymakers to design solutions based on quality data.

More than U.S. residents in 2023 were counted as homeless, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. . The statistic is based on an annual census of homeless people on a single night in January.

Rural and nonrural communities have similar rates of youth homelessness, according to a 2021 study by the University of Chicago鈥檚 Chapin Hall, a think tank focused on public policy that supports families.

But these annual counts 鈥� which Chapin Hall鈥檚 research is based on 鈥� face criticism across the board as they struggle to measure homelessness accurately, even in urban areas.

Erin Carreon, a researcher at the University of Chicago, said there is likely a significant undercount in rural areas. That鈥檚 because rural teens are often 鈥渉idden鈥� from counters.

Georgia, for example, was with her then-girlfriend during the 2023 count, escaping the census.

鈥淲hen we think of homelessness, we might think of people in shelters or we might think of people on a busy street corner that people are walking by,鈥� Carreon said. 鈥淚n a rural area, young people are more likely to stay on couches, inside vehicles if they are outdoors, and it might be in a more secluded and hidden spot.鈥�

Six years ago, Georgia was living with her grandma and legal guardian, Jan DeVries. That’s when Georgia鈥檚 mother asked her to move to Beaumont, a much larger city about 100 miles southeast of Lufkin.

Georgia said she was excited. But after just one week at the new home, she clearly made a mistake. She left to move in with her girlfriend in Lufkin and stayed for two years.

A lack of early, stable relationships and a stubborn independence streak led Georgia to move in and out of homes frequently, DeVries said. In the years following the breakup, Georgia would stay with friends and family, sometimes lasting just one night.

Georgia acknowledges she has played a significant role in contributing to her homelessness. Her mental health is not the best, she said. She is seeking help and meets with a therapist weekly.

While DeVries has been one of the most stable forces in Georgia鈥檚 life, they鈥檝e had their own falling out over Georgia鈥檚 sexual identity.

DeVries said she tried not to judge Georgia, who first came out as a lesbian when she was about 14 and then bisexual when she was older.

鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 like the fact that she was going to make her life that much more difficult for herself,鈥� DeVries said.

LGBTQ+ youths were twice as likely to experience homelessness as their peers, according to another by Chapin Hall.

Georgia loved the company of little stray black cats that roamed the area near the broken-down car she called home last November. A stray dog would wander by occasionally, too, she said.

She is stick-thin. And she rocks a short, modern-day punk haircut dyed a mix of red, blue and green. Tattoos she did herself using a gun purchased online cover her body.

Like any teenager, she can be talkative at points or sit pensively, staring into space.

鈥淚 could have stayed there forever,鈥� she said.

However, the freedom she felt came with some consequences. It was November, and the East Texas region was experiencing its first cold front. She posted videos on TikTok of her breaking down, crying about how lonely she was.

Her feet hurt from the cold. And once, she slept for nearly 48 hours straight fighting a urinary tract infection. A cousin later dragged her to the doctor鈥檚 office for help.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a whole lot I could do about it,鈥� DeVries said. 鈥淵ou pray real hard: 鈥楶rotect her. Protect her. Protect her.鈥� Because she was out there and you can鈥檛 make her understand about the danger she鈥檚 putting herself in. It was misery.鈥�

There wasn鈥檛 anywhere else for the teen to go in Angelina County. Local shelters only accept people over 18 unless violent abuse is reported.

Service providers don鈥檛 have an incentive to seek out these teens, because they have nothing to offer them. And public schools are supposed to act as a safety net, but students rarely know that, said Carreon, the University of Chicago researcher.

The Lufkin school district has a social worker. However, there鈥檚 little help for the kids who . And Georgia doesn鈥檛 remember the last time she was in a classroom.

Two adults who have tried to help Georgia are Pam and Yvonne Smith. They started the Kaleidoscope L.Y.F.E. Foundation to provide access to mentorship for at-risk youth.

Before launching the nonprofit, Pam Smith worked in the juvenile justice system and Yvonne worked at another youth advocacy center. For years, they watched the state and local foster care system struggle. Statewide, the system that is supposed to help young Texans find stable homes has faced scrutiny for staff , home placements and placing kids in hotels when foster homes were unavailable.

Local leaders and organizations, the Smiths say, have failed to close the gap.

鈥淭hese kids are underage and can’t do anything for themselves,鈥� Yvonne Smith said. 鈥淭hey’re stuck in a situation where they鈥檙e supposed to be an adult but are not legally able to act as one.鈥�

They don鈥檛 receive support from the state, they can鈥檛 register themselves for school or GED programs, and they can鈥檛 sign a contract for an apartment or utilities, Yvonne Smith said.

Communities can begin to address homelessness by establishing strategies to divert teens from this path, according to Carreon. And she suggested that federal funding be made more broadly accessible to those communities.

Carreon thinks it really starts with schools, giving them the resources to identify these kids and provide them with help.

鈥淢aking sure schools have the capacity to fulfill their roles is really key,鈥� she said.

Until that happens, rural teen homelessness will likely remain invisible and abstract.

Georgia had to move out of the car after it was vandalized.

And DeVries insisted Georgia return home before Christmas. She waits up each night for Georgia, who walks home from her job at Little Caesars. Georgia likes the work because she can munch on pizza during her breaks.

She puts aside as much money as she can for a car.

This article originally appeared in at .

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In 2004, when he was 17, Michael Jeffery stole a patrolman鈥檚 badge out of a police cruiser in Plano, Texas. He admits it was a 鈥渄umb decision.鈥� He鈥檇 dropped out of school in ninth grade and was in the habit of 鈥渃ar hopping鈥� 鈥� breaking into vehicles to look for valuables. 

Police arrested him quickly.

鈥淭hey left me in jail,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd all I know [is] I went to court nine months later. I had a felony charge for something 鈥� I didn’t know what was going on.鈥�

Nearly 20 years later, at 36, he鈥檚 about to enroll at Catholic University, where he plans to study law, saying, 鈥淚 want to fight for myself.鈥�

On July 14, he finally graduated from high school 鈥� as valedictorian, no less, a feat that seems all the more amazing because Jeffery has spent virtually all of his time in D.C., nearly two years, living in a tent near the city鈥檚 Navy Yard, showering at a neighborhood pool and riding a city bus 15 minutes to class. 

He graduated thanks to an unusual program housed in a two-campus school with one mission: to help adults get their high school diploma, sometimes decades after they dropped out. 

Its oldest graduate is 72 and the youngest 15. The average student, if there is one, is 28 years old.

The school gets its name and startup funding from the place where most of us shop for castoff Pyrex pans, old vinyl LPs and vintage T-shirts.

The Goodwill Excel Center Adult Charter High School is the only adult charter in the district that awards a real high school diploma rather than a GED. After seven years in operation, it boasts about 500 graduates, all of them searching for a second chance to prove to the world 鈥� and themselves 鈥� that they can succeed in school.

Excel does it by front-loading essential services and personalizing everything it can. Among its features: on-site childcare, free transportation to and from school and classes that meet just four days a week 鈥� Fridays are devoted almost exclusively to tutoring. And each student has an academic coach. 

The typical class size is just 10 to 12 students, with many even smaller. It does all this, its leaders say, with the same level of funding that other D.C. charter high schools get: about $16,000 to $21,000 per student.

鈥淧eople know your name, know your story 鈥� and then your coach is your main person,鈥� said Chelsea Kirk, the schools鈥� executive director, who calls the approach 鈥渃urated鈥� to the students it serves.

The individualized approach is intentional, designed to reframe the task of high school completion. 

鈥淲e like to put high school dropouts into a box and say, 鈥楾his is why they’re a dropout,鈥欌�� Kirk said. 鈥淏ut we don’t ever think about what structures caused that. We don’t ever think about 鈥楬ow could a school change its structures to embrace people?鈥欌��

Like Jeffery, many graduates push to get their diplomas because they want to work as attorneys, social workers and the like, devoting their lives to changing the 鈥減oor service and broken systems鈥� they鈥檝e experienced in school and elsewhere as they looked for help.

Doing it for someone

Many Excel students push for their high school diploma because not having it is holding them back from promotions and higher salaries. One alumnus told the school he worked as a paralegal at the same law firm for 18 years, earning minimum wage. A diploma bumped his salary by $20,000.

But for others, the reasons are highly personal. Carla Thompson, 41, said she made her way to Excel after one of her four children, ages 9 to 21, began asking about the point of finishing high school instead of dropping out and getting a job.

鈥淢y 14-year-old is questioning that part,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can’t be a hypocrite and say, ‘You have to,’ and I don’t have it.鈥�

Brendan Hurley, who handles public affairs for the D.C.-area Goodwill region, said messaging for the school has adjusted to this reality. When the school opened in 2016, recruiting materials were 鈥渧ery data driven,鈥� with statistics on how much more high school graduates earn and how they鈥檙e more likely to find sustainable employment. Two years in, an alumni focus group found that message paled in comparison to the blush of pride students felt from simply getting the diploma and sharing the accomplishment with their loved ones. 

鈥淚t’s the diploma itself that’s important,鈥� said Hurley. 鈥淭hey want that piece of paper. They want the high school experience that they did not have when they were 16, 17, 18 years old.鈥�

The big prize, Kirk added, is the external validation they get, the ability to hold their head up among their children and grandchildren. She calls it a 鈥渢wo-generation鈥� approach. 鈥淚t’s not just about you. It’s about the next generation and a generation after that.鈥�

‘Small wins‘

The originated in Indiana in 2010, when Goodwill centers there struggled to find high school graduates to be front-line store workers. It has since spread to five states and D.C. 

The approach takes hold at a moment when U.S. high school graduation rates, while at 86%, are unequally distributed. In fact, D.C. has the worst graduation rate in the nation, at 69%, far below even the worst two states, New Mexico and Arizona.

In D.C., enrollment in the two campuses now sits at 405, with a planned, separately privately funded campus in Baltimore this fall as well. The student body is overwhelmingly Black and about 70% female. For these students, the schools maintain a full-time staff of 49 鈥� many of them younger than the students they serve.

Discussions with Goodwill about opening the center began in 2014, when it got a grant from D.C. to train employees at a planned Marriott hotel. But they found that the No. 1 barrier to jobs at the hotel was a lack of high school diploma. The school opened two years later among the corporate and government highrise canyons just north of The White House. Another campus opened last year near D.C.鈥檚 National Mall.

Though most Excel students come from the poorest neighborhoods in the city, miles from downtown, the schools鈥� geography is intentional, Kirk said: Students wanted safe locations away from the crime and violent schools of their neighborhoods. But they also wanted a place that brought them into contact each morning with professional opportunities. As it is, the original school lies squarely between the World Bank and the Council on Foreign Relations.

One key to the school鈥檚 success is its prioritization of 鈥渟mall wins鈥� for students who may have had few of them in school until now. For instance, a big difference between Excel and virtually every other school model is its academic calendar. No matter what their education or skill level when they enter, every student starts as a ninth-grader and proceeds at her own pace, without a cohort of classmates on the same track.

Students ideally can complete their entire high school education in just two years, with individualized education plans and tutoring for every student that allow them to maintain work and family duties. In reality, many students complete the program more slowly, coming and going as life allows 鈥� a few who graduated this July first enrolled in 2016, when the center鈥檚 doors opened. 

The school licenses with the local YMCA to run a full-time, licensed daycare and child development center upstairs from the classrooms.

And instead of 20-week semesters, as in most high schools, Excel offers all its courses in five compact eight-week terms, all of them based on competency, not seat time. Four assessments over the course of each term keep students on track.

But if they lose the thread of a course and tutoring doesn鈥檛 help, they can simply start over again at the end of eight weeks, without having to wait months or even a year for a 鈥渞e-do,鈥� a major pain point for many students who drop out.

For students with heavy work or family commitments, the school offers a nearly unheard-of accommodation: Staying enrolled requires taking just one class per term.

Jeffery, the valedictorian, showed up to the school in the spring of 2022, after years of bouncing between jobs: dental assistant, tax preparer, fast-food restaurant manager. 

鈥淚 can get a job without a high school diploma,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have experience. I know I could have probably come out here and got a job that pays well with my resume. But that wasn’t my plan. My plan was to do more with myself because I know I can do more.鈥�

He was ready to get on with his schoolwork: 鈥淚 told them just to fill my schedule up, give me all the classes I can take.鈥� He graduated barely a year after he started. 

With the school鈥檚 help, he鈥檚 close to moving into his own place, if a background check clears. But he acknowledges that he鈥檚 spent a lot of time 鈥渓ost, trying to find my way.鈥� 

By Jeffery鈥檚 telling, upon his arrest in Texas in 2004, authorities offered this deal: Plead guilty to felony assault stemming from a fight at a nearby high school and walk away with time served plus probation. Or risk going to trial for the fight and serve as much as eight years in prison. Because he was a juvenile, the records remain sealed.

He鈥檇 been at the school the night of the fight, but nowhere near the clash, he said 鈥� and he hadn鈥檛 even been questioned about it while sitting in jail for months. But he soon realized he had no choice: With a public defender who did little to stand up for him, Jeffery said, he took the plea deal and earned his release shortly after his 18th birthday. 

鈥淚 didn’t know how the system worked,鈥� he recalled, the ordeal still stinging nearly two decades later. 鈥淭he lawyer that I had, and the judge, they didn’t fight for me. They didn’t care. They just wanted to get a conviction and call it a day.鈥� 

For the past year or so, Jeffery鈥檚 been known to spend more time than most at the school鈥檚 downtown campus, arriving early and leaving late, ferreting out the teachers who can offer a bit of extra tutoring. He made a point to get to know every teacher and administrator, lingering over conversations before heading back to his tent.

鈥淭hose cold nights and those hot summers and those rainy days and those rats, those people who are under the influence of all kinds, they’re not fun to live around,鈥� he said. The school was 鈥渕y escape from that world.鈥�

‘I came in like a sour lemon‘ 

The school follows 12 accountability goals set by D.C.鈥檚 Public Charter School Board. One of them requires Excel to graduate 20% to 25% of its students each year, which it typically does. According to its 2019 , it graduated 31.7% and exceeded the board鈥檚 reading and math proficiency goals. In 2022, ; this year that dropped to 22%, still meeting the board鈥檚 goals.

Its annual attendance goal: 60%, but the school adjusts to students鈥� lives if they show a willingness to persevere and be honest when they can鈥檛 make it to class. If students have two consecutive absences, the school requests that they create an attendance plan with their academic coach. Students can be kicked out if they don’t meet the requirements, but can easily reapply.

Many students, Kirk said, work overnight jobs and care for children and grandchildren, as well as parents. And many, approaching and in some cases exceeding middle age, have health issues that keep them away.

鈥淲e don’t take it lightly that you show up,鈥� she said.

Cheryl Smith, 49, enrolled at Excel 33 years after leaving her D.C. middle school at the end of eighth grade 鈥� and a year after beating a lifelong PCP addiction, one that began around the time she dropped out of school. An adoptee who never met her biological parents, Smith had children of her own very young. She eventually had three kids, all before turning 20. 

She can count the number of times she tried to quit PCP: 35. Her addiction tore her family apart. Her two sons would eventually be put up for adoption, but she stayed connected to them through a friend and has once more become a steady presence in their lives. Her kids all grew up, and she鈥檚 now a grandmother of eight.

She enrolled in 2021, recalling, 鈥淲hen I came here, they opened up their arms to me. I came in like a sour lemon, but rose to be an apple.鈥�

For Smith, getting her diploma amounts to a kind of redemption and face-saving for her grandkids, the oldest of which is now 16, who spent their lives seeing their grandmother get high.

鈥淭he older ones knew,鈥� she said. Though she never used drugs around her grandkids, they all saw the aftermath: 鈥渟itting there, looking stupid.鈥�

She tried to get clean one last time, saying to herself: 鈥淚’m just tired of it. It’s not a good look.鈥�

She had extra motivation: The birth of her youngest grandson Dontae, now 3. Born premature, at just 2 lbs. 11 oz., the size of your hand, 鈥渉e came out eating,鈥� Smith said, thus earning the nickname Munchy.

Now in her care much of the time, he鈥檇 come to school with her most mornings, spending his days in the YMCA childcare center upstairs. Growing up in D.C., she said, he鈥檒l undoubtedly see drug use around him. But not from his grandma.

Positive affirmation

In the end, the secret of the school鈥檚 success may boil down to the simplest of principles: It believes in its students. Ask any Excel student what they missed in their high school career and they鈥檒l easily tell you: a sense of possibility, of success.

鈥淭hat’s the piece that a lot of our students have missed, that affirmation piece, that 鈥楢tta boy,鈥欌�� said Vershaun Terry, who heads special education for the schools. 鈥淭hey want to be seen.鈥�

Many observers might mistakenly believe that positive affirmations are only for small children. Even prospective staffers at the school believe they鈥檙e walking into a space where adults can succeed without a lot of affirmation, Terry said.

鈥淭hey don’t. They come in chronologically at a higher age, but socially, emotionally, they’re youth,鈥� he said. Many still need that guidance, those affirmations, that structure. 鈥淭hey have a whole world out there to take care of, but they still need it here. They need to get refilled here, too.鈥�

As for Cheryl Smith, she graduated alongside Jeffery and 54 others, 35 years after she finished middle school. She has told Kirk she wants to mentor students at Excel, but for now she鈥檚 grateful for the opportunity to be a role model after all these years. Next she wants to get off disability and find a home that鈥檚 not Section 8 public housing.

鈥淚’ll be 50 next year,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I get older, I want to be able to sit back in my rocking chair with my great-grandkids and be able to tell the story: 鈥榊eah, Grandma was a pistol, but she turned out to be a winner.鈥� 鈥�

]]> /zero2eight/pathways-early-learning-center-high-quality-early-education-for-kids-dealing-with-homelessness/ Fri, 14 Apr 2023 11:00:53 +0000 https://the74million.org/?p=7930 Hospitality. Housing. Hope: Three resources every person dealing with homelessness needs 鈥� and they鈥檙e in especially short supply for women. For women with children, these resources can be especially complicated to come by.

For in downtown Birmingham, Ala., hospitality, housing and hope form the core of its mission to empower women and children on their path out of homelessness. Since its founding as a shelter in 1983, Pathways has worked to create comprehensive services for women experiencing homelessness, evolving over the years to become its current full-service agency. Its Day Center meets the basic needs of unsheltered women and children, with hot meals, hygiene products, clothing and a hot shower, among its many offerings. Safe Haven provides permanent, supportive housing for women with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness by assisting residents to regain skills for independent living while providing a permanent home to those who need more support.

In February 2019, Pathways opened a new emergency shelter program for women and children called Stepping Stones, designed to offer a homelike environment and supportive services to support women working to regain economic stability and find permanent housing. The Pathways team saw again and again how residents were stymied by the need for child care as they interviewed for jobs, even more so when they found employment. The Pathways team saw a need for a more structured solution, and Pathways Early Learning Center was born.

鈥淲hen we first started with this idea, we were basically just thinking 鈥榖abysitting,鈥欌�� says Casey Cunningham, Pathways鈥� development director. 鈥淲e were seeing that moms who needed to go to work or to an appointment couldn鈥檛 take their children with them because they were too young for school and would just leave their child with another woman they鈥檇 met in the shelter that day.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 very common, but it鈥檚 not always safe for the child 鈥� and it鈥檚 definitely not the nurturing environment that would be ideal for the child,鈥� Cunningham says. 鈥淪o, we thought, 鈥榃e have to hire someone who would be a safe person for them to leave their children with.鈥� The initial idea was, 鈥榃ell, that would be better than 迟丑颈蝉.鈥欌赌�

As the team began looking into the situation, they realized that it presented an opportunity to have a major impact on the children鈥檚 lives while making life easier for the parents. As they researched, they realized how formative those early years are and what a powerful effect homelessness was having on essential aspects of the child鈥檚 development.

鈥淲hen a child and a family are experiencing homelessness,鈥� she says, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 trauma, which can have lifelong effects on the child鈥檚 brain development. The research also shows that protective factors such as high-quality early care can mitigate the harm of those adverse childhood experiences. We started looking at how we could become a licensed child care center offering early childhood education, with trained teachers and trauma-informed approaches to caring for the children.鈥�

What they initially saw was hoops: lots and lots of hoops to jump through, and regulations to understand and conform to.

鈥淭hen, just as we were getting started, the pandemic hit,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ll professional licensing processes paused and that set us back for an entire year.鈥�

Cunningham took advantage of the pause to drill down into the licensing requirements and make sure all the applications had what they needed. The staff worked on getting furniture donated and setting up the classrooms. A major hurdle popped up when the team had to raise an additional $40,000 to meet licensing requirements for a new restroom exclusively for the children. Just when discouragement was about to get the upper hand, the world started opening up again and Pathways was able to launch the Early Learning Center on November 1, 2021.

The center is licensed for up to 22 children aged 8 weeks to 5 years, and presently is serving 20 kids. Having five teachers exceeds the required ratios for staffing, which the Pathways team felt was essential because of the challenging behaviors of the traumatized children enrolled there.

鈥淭rauma-informed care realizes the impact trauma can have on our behaviors and actions, so we鈥檝e integrated that into our policies and practices,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he teachers are trained to see these challenging behaviors not as, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 wrong with you?鈥� or as something that should be punished or corrected, but as an opportunity to ask, 鈥榃hat happened to you?鈥� and to get on the child鈥檚 level so we meet them where they are. We work to provide them with a safe space to feel those big feelings and to learn the social-emotional skills they need to build resiliency.

鈥淥ur center focuses on social-emotional learning more than the ABCs or the 1-2-3s, though they do that too. But the focus is on just learning to be a person, to have the resilience socially and emotionally that they may not have due to the traumas they鈥檝e experienced so early in their lives.鈥�

The children can stay in the program even when the mother regains housing. Continuing to provide care was an important part of supporting the women, Cunningham says, because suddenly becoming ineligible for child care once they found a job would pull the rug out from under people who are just getting on solid ground.

鈥淲hen a family moves into our shelter or another shelter, we make a plan with the parents to see what they will need to be successful in another child care center once they regain housing. Our children are exempted from having immunization records or birth certificates under the , but when they go to another child care center, they鈥檒l need those things.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e able to remain with us if they鈥檙e experiencing homelessness and when they regain housing, we create an individualized transition plan that will hopefully lead them to finding child care they can afford elsewhere. This will look different depending on different family situations. We might help them apply for a voucher for subsidized child care or to get into a Head Start program.鈥�

When Pathways 4-year-olds are ready to leave the nest, staff works to place them in one of Alabama鈥檚 nationally recognized First Class Pre-K programs, consistently ranked as one of the highest quality programs in the U.S.

Pathways鈥� funding comes from foundations and government sources, including the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. The agency offers life skills classes and support groups in the Day Center 鈥� all optional. Parenting classes have been especially popular, Cunningham says. Pathways staff refer women looking for GED programs, job training or workforce development to partner agencies. The Early Learning Center is completely free 鈥� a boon to the mothers, most of whom are single parents, who are doing everything completely on their own.

鈥淗aving access to the Early Learning Center means the moms can save more of the money they start making when they get a job, which helps them get a better start once they鈥檙e in permanent housing,鈥� Cunningham says. 鈥淭he moms say it鈥檚 so convenient for them. They can drop their kids off and know they鈥檙e well cared for 鈥� and they鈥檝e told me that their kids are excited to go to school every day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also great for the mothers to just have some time to themselves. It can be exhausting for them to deal with everything they deal with. It鈥檚 wonderful for us to be able to give them a little break.鈥�

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RESOURCES

• 鈥� Legislation that authorizes the federal . It is the primary piece of federal legislation relating to the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It provides the rights of eligible children and youth to immediate school enrollment even when school records are not present; the right to remain in the school of origin, if that is in the student鈥檚 best interest; the right to receive transportation to and from the school of origin; and the right to receive support for academic success. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2019-2020 school year (the last for which statistics are available), 1,280,886 homeless students were enrolled, including unsheltered children (4%), children living in hotels or motels (7%), in shelters (11%), or doubled up with multiple households (78%).

]]> /article/often-unseen-bus-drivers-can-help-schools-find-and-support-homeless-students/ Wed, 05 Apr 2023 11:15:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=707017 Gregory Pierce was driving his bus route in Sheffield, Vermont one January morning when a student got on and told him her classmate had moved in down the road with her grandmother after the family鈥檚 home burned down.

Concerned, Pierce took down the classmate鈥檚 name and passed it on to the Kingdom East School District鈥檚 homeless liaison, Lori Robinson, who said the family 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� qualified for services like transportation help and nutritional assistance. 

It鈥檚 a scenario Superintendent Jennifer Botzojorns has seen play out repeatedly. Her bus drivers, many of whom have been in their roles for over a decade, frequently function as the eyes and ears of the rural district, helping schools support students who may otherwise slip through the cracks.

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鈥淭hey really know their routes and they know the kids, so they can see if suddenly kids [are missing] a winter coat when they had one in the past 鈥� or there’s no car in the driveway,鈥� Botzojorns said. 鈥淚t’s this hidden relationship that鈥檚 really important.鈥�

As the only adults in the school system who actually see students鈥� homes each day, bus drivers have a unique vantage point on housing instabilities, advocates and practitioners say. 

For Pierce, who鈥檚 shared several tips with Robinson, helping students begins with getting to know them.

鈥淣ow you鈥檙e part of our family,鈥� he tells students when they start riding his bus, part of a specialty transportation service the district contracts with to transport students experiencing homelessness. 

He and his wife purchase gifts for students on their birthdays. Before the holiday, they bought grocery cards and 12-pound hams for each family, he said. Over time, many of the young people have come to lean on him, which he attributes to being a caring adult who is less of an 鈥渁uthority figure鈥� than their teachers.

The students Pierce drives are already dealing with homelessness, but they are also the ones who are most likely to know other students facing the same hardship.

鈥淭he students tell us a lot,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚f you want to know who’s homeless and who鈥檚 not, you need to talk to the students, you’ve got to get a good rapport with them.鈥�

U.S. schools identified over a million students 鈥� 2.2% of all learners 鈥� as homeless in 2020-21, the most recent school year for which data are available, according to a . But even those figures undercount the issue as , a telltale sign they are failing to identify youth in need of help.

Students experiencing homelessness have lower overall attendance, standardized test scores and high school graduation rates than any other peer group. The limited data that exist suggest roughly the same share of youth in rural areas like Vermont experience homelessness as in urban areas, but with .

Vermont has the second-highest per capita rate of homelessness in the nation, lower only than California鈥檚, according to a . At the same time, the Green Mountain state provides temporary shelter to a higher share of its residents without homes than any other state, with 98% safely indoors on a point-in-time count from last year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a brutal [housing] affordability crisis in Vermont right now,鈥� U.S. Sen. Peter Welch told 社区黑料 in an email. The legislator said he is proud of his state鈥檚 efforts to shelter homeless families, but hopes school staff can also be part of longer-term solutions.

Once the Kingdom East school district knows a student is experiencing homelessness, its transportation staff continues to play a key role in supporting the child. If they鈥檙e living at a shelter or motel, the busing director alters the routes so that the student is the first pickup and last dropoff to avoid outing them as homeless to their peers. At the end of the day, district guidance counselors hand off backpacks full of clothes and food to bus drivers who discreetly give them to children in need when they step off.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e backpacks and people don鈥檛 think anything of it,鈥� transportation manager Darlene Jewell said.

Kara Lufkin, the homeless liaison for the St. Johnsbury school system, which neighbors Kingdom East, uses , a Michigan-based company that trains school staff on how to spot the signs of homelessness. The company provided training videos to her district鈥檚 transportation fleet.

鈥淚t’s really just an awareness of what are some things to look for 鈥� that could potentially mean a student was homeless,鈥� she said.

Federal law requires all school staff who serve homeless youth to be trained in the possible signs of homelessness. The policy does not explicitly name bus drivers, or any other role, 鈥渂ut since bus drivers would serve students experiencing homelessness, we’d expect those drivers to be included in the professional development sessions,鈥� said Jan Moore, director of technical assistance at the National Center for Homeless Education. 

However, oversight is lax and many transportation staff never receive the training 鈥� meaning their schools miss a key opportunity to support their most vulnerable students.

鈥淭here are disparities across the board in how, if or when training is occurring,鈥� said Karen Roy, an advisor for MV Learning. 鈥淲e want to make sure everybody is trained in recognizing what some of those red flags might be so that kids are identified. Because if we don’t identify them, we can’t begin to serve them.鈥�

Roy said the drivers who do receive training come out of her sessions often connecting the dots retrospectively on past interactions they鈥檝e had with students. One bus driver in a rural district in northern Michigan, for example, saw two children leave for school directly from a barn in the morning, she said.

鈥淗e didn’t really think about it until he had the training. And then he said, 鈥楬ey, these kids are likely homeless, they’re not living in a safe place.鈥� So he referred them to the liaison.鈥�

Schools are required under the to make sure students experiencing homelessness have 鈥渆qual access鈥� to education 鈥� which often means providing them with food, clothing, transportation and more.

Lexi Higgins runs a program called that trains bus drivers on how to recognize and report human trafficking, an issue she said is 鈥渋ncredibly linked鈥� to homelessness because most youth victims of trafficking are housing insecure when they鈥檙e recruited. Her company has trained drivers from over 2,000 districts.

鈥淸Bus drivers] are sometimes forgotten when we’re talking about education professionals because they’re not on the school campus,鈥� Higgins said. 鈥淏ut they really are playing an incredibly important role 鈥� and have some unique skills based on their job to be able to flag threats to the safety of the students that they’re seeing every day.鈥�

Pierce, the East Kingdom driver, suspects such training sessions will prove to be a fruitful strategy.

鈥淭he drivers are the centerpoint for a lot of this,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檒l bet we鈥檒l find a lot more people who need help.鈥�

Lufkin and Robinson, the homeless liaisons from the neighboring Vermont districts, recently tag-teamed to help a student after a bus driver sounded the alarm. Robinson had lost touch with a family on her caseload, but learned through transportation staff that the student was getting on and off the bus at different locations each day. When she got back in contact, she found out they were fleeing a domestic abuse situation. When the family found an apartment a town over, she connected them to Lufkin. 

The bus driver鈥檚 tip, Robinson said, 鈥渨as the first hint that I had that anything was wrong.鈥�

]]> /article/homelessness-threatens-rural-students-amid-affordable-housing-crunch/ Fri, 03 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=703513 St. Johnsbury, Vermont 

By the time Chaunceey Chery turned 18, he had moved nearly two dozen times. 

For years, he bounced between apartments and hotel rooms in Vermont and Florida as his mother struggled with substance abuse. His family, he said, spent more hours than he can estimate driving back and forth on I-95, which runs the length of the Eastern Seaboard. 

As a teenager, Chery tried out online school to maintain continuity amid the many moves, but family turmoil and his own mental health challenges prevented him from fully engaging in lessons. For nearly two years, he hardly learned anything, he said.

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At 15, he began living with relatives in northeastern Vermont, hoping for more stability. He began regularly attending school in an alternative program meant for students facing adverse circumstances and was able to land a job, but he felt he was 鈥渨alking on eggshells鈥� living in a space that was not his own. Meanwhile, his housing nightmare continued as one aunt got evicted, another had landlord difficulties and his uncle鈥檚 house got foreclosed. 

鈥淚 felt like I was quadruple homeless at that point,鈥� he said.

Circumstances like those that Chery endured as a young person trying to survive and stay in school now threaten to become increasingly common in rural areas, as experts warn of a in remote towns and villages.

In St. Johnsbury, Vermont where Chery lives, the school district鈥檚 homeless liaison, Kara Lufkin, said her caseload has jumped to nearly two dozen students this school year after hovering just above a dozen for the two years prior. Lori Robinson, the liaison for a nearby school district in the wider Northeast Kingdom region, also said she鈥檚 now serving the most students she ever has since starting the role in 2020, when a nationwide eviction moratorium protected families. 

Federal funding for low-cost rural rentals has been slashed in recent decades. A U.S. Department of Agriculture program that once helped finance the construction of new apartments in sparsely populated areas of the country has been 鈥� squeezing an option long relied upon by many rural households.

But local factors also play in as Vermont is phasing out its pandemic rental assistance program. Rebecca Lewis, regional director of Northeast Kingdom Community Action, said her organization is bracing for 鈥渁 lot more鈥� families to lose their housing in the next six months.

Vermont has the second-highest per capita rate of homelessness in the nation, lower only than California鈥檚, according to a December 2022 report from the . At the same time, the Green Mountain state provides temporary shelter to a higher share of its residents without homes than any other state, with 98% safely indoors on a point-in-time count from last year.

While dwarfed in size by places like New York City, where the number of homeless students , rural students without housing face challenges that are distinct from those in metro centers. Emergency shelters, public transportation and cell reception tend to be scarce or nonexistent. Quiet places to work like libraries and coffee shops may be miles away. And in far north regions like St. Johnsbury, one winter night without proper shelter can be lethal.

As a homeless liaison, Lufkin understands it鈥檚 her job to mitigate these difficulties as much as possible. She coordinates transportation to and from school when families need it and often provides youth in need of winter gear with jackets, hats and gloves. Robinson, in the district next door, celebrated being able to scrape together the equipment and transportation for a student on her caseload to play football in the fall and basketball this winter. 

Still, much remains beyond their control, Lufkin said, and some conditions can cripple learning for homeless youth regardless of whether they’re happening in a teeming city or the remote reaches of New England. 

鈥淸Students] may not be sleeping as well if they鈥檙e sleeping on a couch,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you’re hungry, your focus isn’t on reading that textbook or doing that math work.鈥�

These are just a few of the many factors that explain why youth experiencing homelessness have worse education outcomes than any other peer group, with the lowest overall attendance, standardized test scores and high school graduation rates of all students. The limited data that exist suggest roughly the same share of youth in rural areas experience homelessness as in urban areas, but with .

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a survival mindset,鈥� said Chery. 

For the embattled teen, a level of stability finally came when, at 18, he entered a temporary housing program for homeless youth run by Northeast Kingdom Youth Services. He finally had a space to himself without worrying about eviction.

鈥淚t felt like I could breathe for a second,鈥� he said.

He began taking courses at the local community college, which conveniently was walking distance from where he was staying. He applied to nearby Northern Vermont University for the spring term and was accepted, attending school there for three months until the COVID school shutdowns of March 2020 derailed his plans.

The disruption underscored the fragility of his situation, he realized. At his new college, he had depended on his dorm room as his only place to stay and often felt a level of 鈥渋mposter syndrome,鈥� he said, as it seemed that other students were more prepared for the coursework and campus culture. He had a long way to go before fully recovering from the traumas of his teenage years, he thought to himself.

鈥淚 got out of those situations that I was in, but now there鈥檚 so much more work to do trying to build a life, lay the foundation.鈥�

Homeschooling while homeless

For Elysia Gingras, the spiral into homelessness didn鈥檛 come until she was in her 30s with five children, who now range in age from 9 to 13. 

The once financially comfortable seven-member family now stays in two rooms at an inn in St. Johnsbury as a part of Northeast Kingdom Community Action鈥檚 supportive housing program. The family burned through roughly $15,000 in savings, the mother said, after their dog attacked their nephew in an incident that was heavily covered in local outlets. While the family followed the injured toddler to hospitals in Boston and Hanover, New Hampshire, a health inspector condemned their apartment of five years, forcing them to crash at a nearby Comfort Inn 鈥� a move they thought would last a couple of weeks, tops. 

Now two years and hundreds of unsuccessful rental applications later, Gingras has come to understand just how tough the area鈥檚 housing market is. Even with her husband working full time as a roofer making over $20 an hour and her selling Arbonne cosmetics part time, nothing has panned out yet.

鈥淚 look [for rentals] every day, and I鈥檓 not exaggerating,鈥� Gingras said. 

鈥淓very place that we thought we were gonna get, it was like this constant roller coaster of getting your hopes up and finding out, nope, we didn’t get that one.鈥�

Low-priced housing units in the Northeast Kingdom have been in short supply for years, explained Patrick Shattuck. He works as executive director of Rural Edge, the region鈥檚 main affordable housing development organization and its largest landlord. The Kingdom鈥檚 population of roughly 65,000 is both shrinking and aging, he said, meaning big houses that used to be occupied by young families now often hold just one or two elderly inhabitants. 

At the same time, the rise of seasonal tourism 鈥� with enticing skiers in the winter and the popular drawing mountain bikers in the summer 鈥� have led some property owners to convert rental units into more lucrative AirBnBs. Despite the efforts of Shattuck鈥檚 organization to maintain and add affordable options to the market, apartment prices have soared. Local institutions like schools and hospitals, he said, have lost would-be hires because the candidates can鈥檛 find affordable places to stay.

For the Gingras family, the housing squeeze has translated into some major life adjustments. Elysia Gingras, previously the type to bake homemade bread and meal-plan a month in advance, had to serve cereal and Hot Pockets when they first moved to the inn due to lack of kitchen access. 

She homeschools four out of her five children from their two motel rooms, but they now complete worksheets on clipboards rather than at the kitchen table. By homeschooling, Gingras is able to incorporate the family鈥檚 Christian faith into the school day, teaching prayer alongside math lessons, spelling quizzes and visits to the local Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. She ensures all her children make their beds nicely each morning so their shared area stays orderly and there鈥檚 floorspace during the day for group yoga breaks.

But for all the family鈥檚 work to maintain normalcy, keeping up morale can be tough at times, the mother told 社区黑料 just after New Year’s. The last few months were especially difficult. 

鈥淓verybody’s trying to be joyful because it’s the holidays, but how do you really have a merry Christmas when you’re all in a hotel?鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we see [the other unhoused parents] outside and we’re like, 鈥楬ey, how are you?鈥� It doesn’t even matter what you say 鈥� because we’re here. We’re still here. And it’s like that unspoken acknowledgement of pain.鈥�

Identifying and supporting students

Gingras, with her self-created curricula and Harry Potter read-alouds, exemplifies something Brittnee Dwyer, two months into a job with Northeast Kingdom Community Action, has quickly come to realize.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean if someone鈥檚 homeless that they鈥檙e a bad parent,鈥� the newly hired housing specialist said.

But still, Asia Goldsmith, the Gingras鈥檚 neighbor at the inn, sometimes can鈥檛 avoid the creeping thought that she鈥檚 failing her three children. After spending the summer couch surfing and camping, the four of them have been at the hotel since September. She鈥檚 proud of her kids for earning good grades this school year thanks to afterschool tutoring provided by the district, she said. But she asks them to conceal their home life as much as possible.

鈥淭hey hate that they can鈥檛 have friends over, but, I don’t know, I’m embarrassed,鈥� Goldsmith said.

Her family had not yet connected with the school district鈥檚 homeless liaison, she said.

鈥淚 imagine there are probably families out there who are not on our list but are maybe experiencing homelessness for one reason or another,鈥� Lufkin acknowledged. She said she couldn鈥檛 comment on individual families鈥� cases for privacy reasons.

The district is working to improve its efforts at identifying students experiencing homelessness so they can provide them with the needed services, she said. The liaison runs professional development sessions to help school staff learn the possible signs of housing insecurity. Bus drivers, for instance, can flag if a young person鈥檚 pickup location fluctuates, indicating that the family may be in a couch-surfing situation, she said.

The superintendent of the St. Johnsbury School District did not respond to requests for comment.

Over 2,750 Vermonters are experiencing homelessness according to a from early 2022 鈥� more than double the state鈥檚 pre-pandemic level. The state鈥檚 overall percentage increase in homelessness from 2020 to 2022 was the highest in the nation. 

Much of that rise, advocates say, may be residents who once fell under the radar while doubled-up with relatives but were forced to seek independent shelter because of families鈥� COVID concerns.

鈥淲e started to see more people who had no place to go,鈥� said Shattuck, the Rural Edge director.

In response, state lawmakers have approved major investments to add more affordable housing to the market. Vermont built 800 new low-cost apartments in 2022 and has another 800 currently under construction, Gov. Phil Scott said in his January State of the State . He said the state helped 1,300 families transition out of homelessness last year.

鈥淗ousing is having its moment in Vermont,鈥� Shattuck said.

Chery, for his part, is seeking to address the issue from another angle. After relying on the transitional housing offered by Northeast Kingdom Youth Services as an 18-year old, he now serves as a case manager for the program. 

Having lived in the shared apartment building, the 23-year-old understands the challenges the young people he works with are facing 鈥� and he knows what it can mean for their schooling.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality about education,鈥� he said. But for housing insecure youth, 鈥済etting to a place where you鈥檙e stable enough that you can fully commit to education, that鈥檚 another whole journey.鈥�

]]> /article/one-wa-school-district-helped-homeless-students-graduate-can-others/ Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=700704 This article was originally published in

In April of his senior year at Timberline High School, after years of conflict at home, Mikel Jake 鈥淢J鈥� Dizon became homeless.

He was a few months from graduation, but considered dropping out of school to focus on his job as a Starbucks barista to make money for rent. This decision could redirect the course of Dizon鈥檚 life.

Only 59% of homeless students in Washington state graduate in four years compared to 83% of all students. A similar disparity exists nationally as well. 

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This has a snowball effect. Not having a high school degree is the greatest single risk factor for experiencing homelessness after school, according to the Chapin Hall research institute at the University of Chicago.

The longer a person remains homeless, the more difficult obtaining stable housing becomes. If a homeless student becomes a chronically homeless adult, they more often require not only housing but also services for mental health, physical health, and substance abuse treatment.

But at North Thurston Public Schools, the 661 students like Dizon, who are sleeping on friends鈥� couches, in vehicles, in shelters or in tents 鈥� with or without their families 鈥� are graduating at nearly the same rates as their peers. The district has shown that this feat just requires dedicated and consistent support.

The Seattle Times鈥� Project Homeless is collaborating with the Center for Public Integrity to examine how homeless students are faring in Washington and across the U.S. This series will also include a look at school discipline rates for Washington鈥檚 40,000 homeless students, as well as federal funding disparities among states.

Beginning six years ago, North Thurston hired staff, called 鈥渟tudent navigators,鈥� whose sole function is to attend to each homeless student鈥檚 needs, whether that鈥檚 housing or food, feeling like they belong at school, or planning for the future beyond graduation.

It has worked. 

North Thurston鈥檚 graduation rates for homeless students rose from 65% in 2017 to 84% in 2020 and 81% in 2021 鈥� within 7 percentage points of the district鈥檚 overall graduation rate.

State education officials say that North Thurston has provided a blueprint to limiting the impact that homelessness has on the rest of a student鈥檚 life. Now, they just need the money to scale it up.

Our mantra is 鈥渞emove all barriers鈥�

Since Dizon鈥檚 family immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 2015, he said he鈥檚 been forced to leave his home three times due to conflicts with his parents, at times because he didn鈥檛 feel safe there.

鈥淚 came out of the closet to my parents, and my father wasn鈥檛 so accepting,鈥� Dizon said. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 want to be my parents anymore. And I wasn鈥檛 their son.鈥�

Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, 68% of whom cite family rejection as a major reason they become homeless, according to the Raikes Foundation.

Dizon wasn鈥檛 able to sleep at night his senior year when he realized he would become homeless. He had trouble waking up in time to attend drama, his favorite class. Soon, he was failing a class and drowning in all the tasks he needed to complete.

His boyfriend鈥檚 mom, a teacher at the district, told him a student navigator could help him.

Dizon connected with Gina Goddard, the student navigator at Timberline High School, who invited him into her office and spent hours on the phone with him to sign up for food stamps, and helped connect him with a foundation that provided him money for rent. 

鈥淚f you are worried about whether or not you鈥檙e going to be able to eat or where you鈥檙e going to sleep, it is very, very hard to concentrate on your Spanish test,鈥� said Leslie Van Leishout, who helped create North Thurston鈥檚 student navigator program in an effort to 鈥渞emove all barriers鈥� for homeless students.

That support pulled Dizon above water.

How North Thurston鈥檚 student navigator program began

The amount of time student navigators have to spend with their homeless students is what sets North Thurston apart from many other districts.

Before North Thurston had a student navigator in each high school, the district had a single homeless student liaison who was in charge of supporting about 900 homeless students and a similar number of foster care children.

Every school district in the nation is mandated to have a liaison under the McKinney-Vento Act, a federal law passed in 1987 to ensure that students experiencing homelessness 鈥渉ave access to the same free, appropriate public education鈥� as other children.

But the law and the accompanying federal funding don鈥檛 provide the level of support homeless students need, education officials and advocates say. 

Much of the North Thurston liaison鈥檚 time, Van Leishout said, was spent on paperwork and meetings rather than one-on-one support for homeless students.

Many have duties beyond even that. Sometimes, the McKinney-Vento liaison is also a principal or the district鈥檚 superintendent. Nearly 60% of McKinney-Vento liaisons statewide said they have less than four hours a week to serve homeless students, according to a 2022 report by the state鈥檚 Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Washington state passed several laws in the last decade to strengthen the McKinney-Vento Act, one requiring every individual school in the state to designate a staff member as a point of contact for homeless students. But that had the same problem of adding duties onto already burdened staff, usually counselors.

Van Leishout wanted to try something new in North Thurston. Formerly a teacher in the district for almost 20 years, and director of student support for seven years, she had the superintendent鈥檚 trust to try new ideas, and she could write the grant applications to support them.  

She repurposed federal McKinney-Vento Act funding the district was using primarily for tutoring homeless students to pay for one student navigator. 

It worked instantly. In the first full year of the program, the district鈥檚 graduation rates for homeless students rose 7 percentage points.

The next year, Van Leishout applied for a Washington-state specific grant to help homeless students, which paid for another student navigator. Then, with the pandemic, came funding from the federal government that enabled Van Leishout to add two more student navigators. 

For three straight years since the program began, the graduation rate rose.

Could any district do it?

North Thurston鈥檚 student navigator program is 鈥渨hat the McKinney-Vento Act at its heart was designed to do but with the resources to actually do it,鈥� said Barbara Duffield, executive director of Schoolhouse Connection, a national advocacy nonprofit for homeless students.

But the funding is precarious and limited.

Two student navigator positions may expire soon as money from the American Rescue Plan runs out.

鈥淭hat’s a little bit challenging to know what’s going to happen next,鈥� Van Leishout said.

And not every district in the state could marshal as much ongoing funding as North Thurston.

Both federal and state funding for homeless student programs are competitive 鈥� not every district applies and not every district that applies wins. 

Washington received in 2019 about $1.5 million of McKinney-Vento grant funding to distribute to districts, and the state鈥檚 Homeless Student Stability education Program provides $876,000 per year.

Less than 15% of school districts in the state receive federal McKinney-Vento grant funding and less than 6% of districts receive the state Homeless Student Stability education Program grant.

鈥淭hat by no means is going to come even close to meeting the need that we have given the number of students that are experiencing homelessness,鈥� said Vivian Rogers-Decker, the state鈥檚 Homeless Student Stability education Program supervisor.

Washington does better than most states at identifying and tracking its homeless students, but an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity shows that the lack of funding is likely causing many to fall through the cracks with more than 300,000 homeless students nationally, and at least 2,000 statewide, who  by law.

Rogers-Decker says North Thurston鈥檚 model of providing one-on-one support to homeless students is a best practice that should be emulated in districts around the state, but more funding is needed.

Seattle Public Schools, the largest district in the state, with more than twice the number of homeless students as North Thurston, gets the same amount of McKinney-Vento grant funding and none from the state鈥檚 Homeless Student Stability education Program. 

Whereas each student navigator in North Thurston provides individualized support for about 65 high school students, in Seattle, each full-time staff member dedicated to supporting homeless students serves more than 200 across the district.

鈥淒o I think there’s enough resources? Absolutely not,鈥� said Jeanea Proctor-Mills, Seattle Public Schools鈥� McKinney-Vento liaison. 

Like most districts in the state and nation, Seattle鈥檚 64% graduation rate for its homeless students lags behind its overall graduation rate of 87%.

Personalized attention leads to graduation

Lorin Griffitts, one of North Thurston鈥檚 student navigators and a former homelessness services provider, said she does what she hopes 鈥渁 really good mom would do.鈥� 

She scrutinizes her students鈥� attendance and grades and notices when they start falling off. She meets with students regularly, some every day, in her office in the high school. She provides them whatever they need. Sometimes that鈥檚 a sleeping bag, other times it鈥檚 just a listening ear. 

Student navigators say they need to support students鈥� participation in sports and extracurriculars if they expect them to maintain an interest in school amid what is often turmoil outside of it.

For Dizon, that was theater. He looks the part with long black hair, wearing plaid pants, a pearl necklace and wire-rim glasses. He produced, wrote and directed his first play his senior year and knew he wanted to keep at it.

鈥淚鈥檓 really passionate about writing,鈥� Dizon said. 

So when Dizon couldn鈥檛 afford a school trip to a Shakespeare festival after he became homeless, his navigator, Goddard found funds to pay for it. 

Students also need to see a path for themselves after school, one worth graduating for, navigators say.

Dizon had little time to think about that last spring. His priority at the time was finding a place to live, so when Dizon received his acceptance letter to college, he was overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork he needed to complete.

Goddard spent hours with him filling out forms for financial aid and submitting enrollment papers, in addition to making sure he had a roof over his head until school started. 

Oftentimes, Goddard is her students鈥� only support.

鈥淎 lot of the things that the kids deal with are super overwhelming. And so I think that knowing somebody cares about them is huge,” Goddard said. “And I do really care about my students.”

Dizon is now a freshman at Western Washington University, hoping to graduate with a degree in theater.

鈥淚 call her Miss. G. Like, you know, my aunt,鈥� Dizon said. 鈥淚 wouldn’t have been so comfortable sitting here in my dorm room if it wasn’t for her help.鈥� 

School district or homelessness system?

In many ways, North Thurston has created a homelessness response system within its school district where student navigators act like case managers. 

The district even repurposed an unused building into a space where homeless and low-income students and families can do their laundry and pick up food, household items, clothes and school supplies. Community organizations meet families there to offer housing, health services and help obtaining public benefits.

That鈥檚 possible largely due to the community鈥檚 generosity. All the food, clothes, and supplies are donated by individuals or local businesses. The district also received more than $150,000 last year in cash donations for homeless students. 

That generosity has also been cultivated by student navigators who have built relationships with the community. For example, the North Thurston Education Foundation, which provided Dizon rent money when he became homeless, has increased its giving to the district more than threefold since the student navigator program began. 

Last year, the district built on its success by adding a bilingual student navigator, Jessica Llamas, who is able to reach Spanish-speaking families by allowing them to 鈥渒ind of put their guard down.鈥� 

North Thurston is hoping to add a student navigator in its middle schools, and eventually its elementary schools.

That is, if it can find the money.

This originally appeared at  and is published here in partnership with the .

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